Forced Beginnings
by kurisleen
Summary: They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Forced Trials Sequel. RnR!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_ They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 1

Their Lives

Early Sunday morning, Nanny Rosa hummed merrily as she wiped the jalousie windows of a little house situated near a bright forest. She then proceeded to the kitchen to toast bread and make nutritious sandwiches for two naughty little children who were playing outdoors. As soon as she was finished, the old woman carried the breakfast tray to the dining area and frowned upon seeing that the children are no longer playing in the garden.

"Rin-chan, Su-chan! Breakfast!" she called out but no response was heard.

A few moments later, she saw a familiar blue car pulling over in front of the small gates of the garden. A blonde woman in her early 20's stepped out from the driver's seat then opened the back seat, taking out a bag and a small cage. The nanny went out to greet the newcomer.

"Good morning, Kurapika." Nanny Rosa said in a cheerful manner.

"Good morning, Nanny." The blonde replied and entered the gates, expecting two little children to come and greet her as well.

"This is a surprise. I thought you're not coming home until next week." The nanny said, and followed the woman inside.

"I requested Mr. Seiichi to give me one week break before leaving again for my new job." She explained and entered the house. A warm welcoming atmosphere greeted her and Kurapika was glad she was finally home.

"Would you like some breakfast, dear?" Rosa asked and Kurapika nodded.

"That would be nice." She looked around. "Where are the kids?"

"Probably in the forest again, fishing."

"Well, I better go get them. It's not nice to keep their breakfast waiting."

But it seems like Kurapika didn't need to do that when she heard a familiar squeal approaching the house. A cheerful voice was shouting, "Mommy's back! There's her car!" and she imagined a young raven-haired lad pointing excitedly towards her car.

She heard the small gates opening and a couple of light footsteps on the path walk. The small door of the house swung open, revealing two energetic children, grinning widely. Kurapika sat down on the breakfast table, smiling at them.

"Mommy!"

"Mama!"

Kurapika could definitely distinguish who is who because of the different ways the twins address her. Krisu loves calling her 'Mommy' while Karin must have liked calling her 'Mama'.

The two practically threw themselves in her arms with a longing gesture, making Kurapika chuckle. She ruffled Krisu and Karin's hair, also missing her children.

"Mommy, did you get me a hamster?" Krisu asked, the excitement clear in his voice.

"Of course." Kurapika replied and the boy jumped, asking, "Where? Where? Where?" in response, his mother pointed at the small cage she put on the floor and Krisu squealed again, approaching the said cage and opened it. A fat hamster crawled out of the cage then suddenly bolted out, running wildly around the room.

"Ah!" her son exclaimed and tried to chase the animal.

"Mama, you're spoiling him too much." Karin complained and pouted.

"If you want, I can spoil you too." Kurapika replied with a smile then stood up. She walked towards the bag she was carrying, opened it, and then took out the latest book she wrote.

"Yay!" her blonde daughter ran towards her and took the book. "Thank you, Mama!" she exclaimed and hugged the said book to her chest. Kurapika never understood why her little girl is so fond of her works. She couldn't possibly be reading her complicated books in such a young age.

Now, Kurapika looked over to her son and found him sitting on the wooden floor. He finally caught the hamster on the loose and is now feeding it with sunflower seeds that he found in the cage.

"Breakfast is ready, people." Nanny Rosa suddenly called out, emerging from the kitchen and carrying with her a tray of delicious looking food, which she had set on the table. "Krisu, put your new pet away and wash your hands. Karin, read that book later. No skipping of breakfast." The nanny ordered and the kids immediately obeyed. Kurapika was happy in her decision of hiring Nanny Rosa to take care of the children while she's away.

"Mommy, can you drive us to school tomorrow?" Krisu asked happily then chomped down on his ham sandwich.

"Would you like me to?" Kurapika asked, smiling contentedly.

"Yeah!" the twins replied.

Yes, her twins go to school like any other normal children. Kurapika wanted them to experience things that she herself did not experience during her childhood. Well, she did go to 'school' when she was young in her village a long time ago.

After eating breakfast, Kurapika had decided to rest herself in the living room. However, it seems like her children had no intention of letting her do so. She was half-tired with the long journey from the busy city to this secluded area.

"Mommy, please!" Krisu whined while Karin just sat down beside her mother, watching the morning cartoons on the TV. "Can't we go to the park? It's Sunday!"

"But I thought you went to the park with Nanny yesterday." Kurapika replied with a tired voice.

"But it's different this time! You're here!" the boy whined even more, oblivious to the fact that his mother is very tired.

"Krisu." Karin suddenly called out, stopping the boy from saying anything further. "You haven't fed Goldy, Mr. Bunny, Max and your hamster."

"Oh, yeah!" the boy said and ran upstairs where his goldfish is. Kurapika was grateful that Karin is there to pacify her naughty brother all the time. She then felt her little girl rest her blonde head on her lap. Kurapika ran her fingers through the smooth strands and smiled to herself.

"Ma."

"Hmmm?"

"Do you think our father would ever come back?" she asked and Kurapika's hand froze.

"I don't know." She tried to make her voice steady. Why is she feeling like this anyway? It's almost seven years!

"I don't want him to come back." Karin said then got up. She looked at her mother with the same piercing aquamarine eyes that she inherited from her. "I don't think I could forgive him for leaving us. Krisu thinks the same thing too. In fact, I think it's Krisu who doesn't like Papa the most. "

Kurapika's heart pounded inside her chest, emotions swirling in her. How could she tell them the truth that it wasn't their father who left but her? Her children would hate her. This is the first time she heard this kind of thing from her kids. They were thinking of their father that way? They think that he was the one who left them when it's actually the other way around?

But she had no choice. That was the only way.

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"Come on, Kuroro. Nobody is watching." A seductive voice whispered towards a handsome raven-haired man's ear. "I could convince my brother to invest in Bethel Corporations, too. Only if you go out with me." However, Kuroro Lucifer only smiled and continued reading his reports on his laptop as the red-haired woman continued to massage his shoulders. "So, what do you think?"

"I think your husband wouldn't be too pleased when he finds out that you're asking me out, Alicia." Kuroro replied and stood up, closed his laptop, and then walked towards the bookshelf where he keeps all of Ayumi Suzuki's works. He pulled out the latest one and sat on the couch nearby to read it.

Alicia sat on his working table, purposefully showing her silky legs."What he doesn't know wouldn't hurt him, right?"

"No secret will remain buried forever, Alicia." Kuroro looked up from the book and flashed her a smile. "If I were you, I wouldn't start making a secret to bury."

"Ah, Kuroro. You're definitely my type. What if I tell you that I will divorce my husband? Will you go out with me?" She asked and strode towards a table containing wine glasses and the finest wines. She poured herself one glass then looked at her object of desires.

"I don't think that would even happen." The man replied, making Alicia frown. She put her wine glass down then strode towards the reading Kuroro in a sexy cat walk.

Ignoring her approaching figure, Kuroro glued his eyes on the book and smiled when he read a certain line. Then, he realized that Alicia had leant forward, her hands resting on each his side, trapping Kuroro. She reached out for the book then lowered it to see his face. Then, flashing him a seductive smirk, she leant forward.

"Is there another woman inside your heart, Kuroro?" she asked, her hand resting on his left chest, feeling his calm heartbeat.

"In fact, there is." The man replied calmly with a smile. Alicia drew back with a frown and looked at Kuroro's working table.

"Is it the blonde woman in the picture frame?" she asked then sauntered back to the table and grabbed the said picture frame that she always sees resting on it. There was a picture of a girl with short blonde hair, about 17 or 18 years old, with beautiful aquamarine eyes. Alicia didn't understand it. Nothing is so special about this girl compared to her.

"Alicia." Kuroro called out, his voice suddenly serious and firm. "I would appreciate it if you put that frame down." He said.

With a 'hmp', the red-hair put it back and looked at Kuroro, who resumed reading, then crossed her arms. "There's nothing special about her. What did you see in her?"

"Everything you don't." He simply replied, taking Alicia aback. For a while, she silently stood there, watching Kuroro.

"Well then, it would be an honour to meet the girl who had captured the great Kuroro Lucifer's heart." She laughed, half-mocking and half-meaning it.

"Alicia, if you have nothing else to say, you may leave."

"Fine." The woman replied, and then took her purse that she left on his table. "Don't forget Dad's dinner invitation, okay?" She purred then walked towards the exit door, but not without stealing a quick peck on the cheek from the raven-haired man.

When she finally left, Kuroro let out a relieved sigh. This is not the first time a woman like Alicia had tried to seduce him like that. There were countless women who did this but Alicia was the most persistent one. He wondered whether he had remained a bachelor for far too long now. Other people have been suspecting that he has a different sexual orientation, which he found funny and amusing.

He didn't like how Alicia had been particularly pushing herself to him. He had told her countless times that he's not interested in having a relationship with her or any other girl for that matter. He also can't push her away forcefully because of the fact that she's the daughter of one of his top investors.

Kuroro stood up from his seat, returned the book he was reading, and then walked back to his working table to resume evaluating the reports. He just hoped that Alicia wouldn't think of coming back again. A few minutes later, he heard someone knock lightly and Yumiko stepped inside his office.

"Sir, Mr. Shalnark says that everyone is complete and they're all staying in the Gushiken Mansion." She said and Kuroro nodded in response.

"Thank you, Yumiko." He said. "When is my flight to Azia?"

"Two days from now, sir." His assistant replied.

"Do me a favour and ask Shalnark and the rest where they would like to go on a vacation. And also, don't forget to prepare the needed things for my trip to the Underground River." He added and Yumiko replied with the usual, "Yes, sir." with a bow. Then, she exited the room, leaving Kuroro to finish his work.

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"Mommy, come on!" Krisu merrily skipped as he entered the school gates that Monday morning.

Kurapika smiled as she took Karin's bag and held her hands to also guide her through the gates. The school where she sent the twins is of good quality. It's a bit far from where they live but at least the services the school offers will guarantee to give a good education to her kids. Kurapika watched as Krisu excitedly greeted his classmates then turned towards her. He signalled her to hurry. She remembered last night, when she tucked the twins in bed, that Krisu was happily telling her that he wanted to introduce her to his best friend.

"Ma, can I eat my sandwich now?" Karin asked and her mother shook her head.

"Wait until recess, Karin." She replied and gave her the blue bag. "Now go to your classroom and behave. I'll go get your brother."

With a nod, the little girl dashed towards the 1st grade classroom while Kurapika approached her son, who was happily playing paper-scissor-rock with his friends. Krisu turned his head and smiled broadly when he saw her coming.

"Mom!" he shouted.

"Your sister is already in your classroom." She informed and looked at his playmate. "And who would this be?" she asked.

"My best friend, Jao!" he proudly said.

"Hi!" Jao greeted and gave out a toothy grin.

"Well, nice to meet you, Jao." It kind of reminded her of Gon and Killua. She hoped that Krisu and Jao would become just like those two, always together and trusting each other all the time. "You two better go to your classroom now."

"Mom, will you pick us up?" Krisu asked.

"Of course." His mother smiled. Just then, the school bell rang and the kids who were still outside all ran back to their respective classrooms before the teachers arrive and give them a scolding. Krisu bade good bye to his mom and, together with Jao, bolted towards the same room that Karin entered.

Kurapika was about to return back to where she parked her car when a voice suddenly called her out.

"Are you Ms. Suzuki, Karin and Krisu's mother?" the blonde turned around to see who it was and was a bit surprised who was.

"Not really." Kurapika replied and earned a confused look in return. "That's my pseudonym. Kurapika Kuruta." She introduced and held out her hand.

"Ah. Ms. Kuruta, I'm Mrs. Hanni, the principal of this school." The middle-aged woman had brunette hair and her brown eyes are hidden behind the half-moon spectacles she's wearing.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Hanni. Is there anything I can do for you?" Kurapika asked, shaking her hand.

"I've wanted to meet you. I'm a big fan of your works. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. Actually, it's about your twins."

Kurapika's eyebrows furrowed. "Did they get into trouble?" she asked but the bespectacled woman shook her head and chuckled.

"That's not it, Ms. Kuruta. If you'd like, let's talk about it in my office."

Nodding, Kurapika followed the old woman through the aisles of the school heading to her office. She took a quick glance through the windows of the twins' classroom and smiled when she saw both her kids raising their hands up to the teacher's question. When finally arriving, Kurapika took a seat in front of the principal's desk.

"The only thing I can say about Karin and Krisu is," she paused and looked at Kurapika. "... they do not belong in this school."

Kurapika was stunned by her words. "W-why is that so, Mrs. Hanni?" she asked, worried for her kids.

"Because they're too gifted and smart to continue studying here." The principal replied with a smile. "Those kids are quick learners. Their teachers have told me that the twins already mastered all the books that were given to them."

Kurapika's brows furrowed further. She knows that she should be happy but the confusion is still in her face. She had never seen the kids study very intently every time she comes home. Nanny Rosa hasn't told her anything about the twins being so studious and all.

"I was wondering whether you have taught them some things. You are the great Ayumi Suzuki after all."

"No." The blonde shook her head. "And what gave you the idea that my kids are gifted and smart?" she asked and it was the principal's turn to look confused. Kurapika couldn't blame her. She, the mother of those kids, has no idea that her children are actually like that.

"Well, Krisu is certainly gifted in arts and mathematics." Ms. Hanni opened a drawer nearby, rummaged through the papers that were stored in there, then finally pulled out the one she's looking for. "Here are some of his impressive paintings during art class." She handed them to Kurapika and the blonde's eyes widened slightly.

Did her son really paint this? It was amazing. The blending of the colours, the brush strokes, and the shapes that made up the work are impressive.

"Karin is particularly gifted in literature. She wrote amazing essays that even sixth graders have a hard time understanding. I noticed some similarities with your works with the way she wrote the said essays." Once again, the principal handed her sheets of paper that contained her daughter's writings. "Also, she's fond of science and loves experimenting inside the laboratories. Although the laboratories are only for the high school students, we made an exception because we can see in your daughter's eyes how much she loved it." Mrs. Hanni added.

She read the first sheet and was surprised how it was written beautifully. It was like her style of writing but it seems like Karin put her own little twist on it. Kurapika can't help but smile proudly at her children's achievements. It was amazing. She had no idea how gifted her twins are!

"Because those two learn quickly, they often slack off." The principal continued with a frown.

"What do you mean?" Kurapika asked worriedly.

"It's like a bad habit of theirs. If the teacher tackles a topic they've already mastered, the two would get tired and often sleep in class. What's worse is that Krisu would always escape the class whenever he sees the opportunity. I'm afraid that if this continues, their interest in learning would gradually disappear." Mrs. Hanni explained. "That's why I suggest that you enrol them into another school for gifted children like them. And I happen to know one school. In fact, I've already called and suggested your twins. I've sent them a few of their works and the school said that they would be happy to have those two."

"Really?" Kurapika asked, but somehow, she felt a little worried. "What school would that be?"

"Here is the brochure of the school. It's called B.I.T." the principal said and gave the said brochure to her.

"B.I.T.?"

"Well, that school was founded four years ago but they're particularly good. I'm sure you've heard of it. The Bethel Institute of Technology?"

Suddenly, the brochure she was holding fell on the ground. Kurapika felt her hand shook.

"You asked that school to take in my kids?" she asked, thankful that her voice was steady.

"Yes. The director if B.I.T. was very impressed with them." Mrs. Hanni replied happily. "So, if I were you, I would take this opportunity to give my kids a good education. B.I.T. already made a name in the area of high quality education so there's nothing to worry about."

"_Nothing to worry about? Are you crazy?"_ Kurapika almost wanted to snap at her. There are a lot of things to worry about.

She had heard of Bethel Institute of Technology before. It was a school that Kuroro Lucifer founded himself and they only take in talented students. Most of the kids who had graduated in that school either became hunters or professionals. Though it seems fitting for Karin and Krisu to study there, she won't take the risk of Kuroro finding out that she had given him a daughter and a son that he didn't know existed.

"So, what do you say, Ms. Kuruta?" Mrs. Hanni asked, pulling her out of her train of thoughts.

"I'll... I'll think about it." She replied and stood up. "Thank you for informing me about this."

"By the way, I have given your address to the B.I.T. so the twins' acceptance letter will be arriving anytime this week."

Kurapika felt her heart almost stop. "You what?" she asked, trying hard not to totally snap at her.

"I've given your address to them." The principal repeated, bewildered.

Suddenly, without even so much as a good bye, Kurapika bolted out of the office, a panicked expression donning her face.

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**Author's Note:** _Well... here's Chapter 1 of Forced Beginnings. No KuraKuro scene for now. I'm just showing how their lives are after seven long years of separation. I definitely love Karin and Krisu! Please don't forget to write and review!_

**Next:** _Kurapika travels to the Underground River after one week of staying with her kids. At the same time, Kuroro also arrives at the Underground River, looking for Ayumi Suzuki. Will their paths cross once again after seven years of no communication?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_ They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 2

Replacement

Kurapika leaned back on her soft seat, looking at the window by her side. She saw nothing but the fluffy, white clouds that covered the entire sky. The day is beautiful, perfect for this trip. This is one of the rare times she rode on an airplane instead of a blimp and the blonde was glad that she get to have the window seat.

Sighing in contentment, she took out an envelope located on a compartment below her seat and fished out the papers containing instructions about her job. First off, she needs to interview the people living in the locality, and then she must enter the first 200 meters of the Underground River and write whatever her eyes see. Entering beyond the limit would come in later, after she had gathered enough information. Also, her boss had assigned a professional photographer for her named Rio. He will be the one who will accompany her all the time when she works and Kurapika was told that she will meet him in the hotel where she will be staying.

The blonde closed her eyes to rest. There are still three more hours before she arrives in Puerto Andale, the secluded 'naturalistic' city, where the famous Underground River is located. Kurapika remembered how Krisu and Karin put up brave faces when she told them that she won't be back for a month or two. She felt a little guilty because after one month, it'll be Christmas. Within seven years, she only managed to spend Christmas with them for three times. The thought of it bothered her greatly.

Another thing that also bothered her is the acceptance letter that she received last week from the Bethel Institute of Technology. Kurapika was glad that Mrs. Hanni, the principal of the twins' school, didn't know her real name and used Ayumi Suzuki to tell B.I.T. to register her kids to the school. That meant she didn't have to move into another location again.

Yes, there's nothing to worry about... for now.

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The journey was a little rough but Kurapika was finally able to arrive safely. When the plane landed, she still had to ride a bus for an hour to reach the port, and then ride a boat for thirty minutes to arrive in Puerto Andale. The city was really naturalistic. There are a few buildings surrounding the area and the people are not very wary about visitors. The abundance of plants and trees made the environment fresh and clean. There are also a few hotels and the blonde walked towards a certain hotel where her boss had made a reservation for her.

Her room is very descent. There's a small television, a proper toilet and bathroom, the bed is comfortable to sleep on, and there's an empty wardrobe where she can put her clothes. A study table is located near the windows where she can work on her new book.

With everything in its proper place, Kurapika glance at the clock that read seven in the evening. She suddenly felt a low rumble inside her stomach, demanding that it should be fed.

"I guess I have to eat something now." She muttered and exited her room to go to the ground floor of the hotel, where all cafes and restaurants are located.

Upon arriving, Kurapika choose to eat in a small restaurant where there are a few people eating. She preferred it this way so that she could think clearly about certain things related to her job. After throwing out an order to the waiter, the blonde waited patiently and sat on a table right beside the glass walls. She saw a magazine rack nearby and she stood up, deciding to read one of them to kill time. It seems like fate was playing on her when she fished out the Bethel Company Magazine. Grunting, Kurapika returned it to go back to her seat.

"Ms. Suzuki?" a deep voice asked and Kurapika turned around. A visage of a grinning russet-haired man greeted her. She saw a professional camera slinging around his neck and the blonde smiled.

"Mr. Rio?" she asked and the man nodded.

"It's certainly an honour to work with the great Ayumi Suzuki." Rio said and shook her hand.

"Please. My real name's Kurapika Kuruta." Kurapika explained and gave a gestured for Rio to follow her. "Why don't we sit down and talk about the job given to us?" she suggested and Rio trailed the woman back to her table.

When they took their seats, they immediately engaged themselves in a long serious discussion. Kurapika found out that Rio is actually a local here and he knows a lot of stories and legends regarding the Underground River. Without wasting any second, she immediately interviewed him, asking simple questions and writing his answers down to her little notebook that she always carries around her. When her order arrived, Rio had decided to end their conversation and continue tomorrow morning. He had promised that he would bring her to the different people he knew who also knows a lot of things about the river.

Finally alone, Kurapika stuffed her notebook inside her pocket and turned her attention to the food in front of her. She ate slowly, her mind clouding with many exciting thoughts. If she manages to uncover what is at the end on the Underground River, then her book would be the most successful work in time. Given if the discovery is interesting and worth writing about.

She sighed and looked at the lobby of the hotel through the restaurant's glass walls. Suddenly, she felt her heart stop. Then, it pounded inside her chest like mad. A raven-haired man in a dark suit was standing in front of the receptionist's desk, talking with a familiar smile on his face.

Kurapika looked away and chuckled to herself.

_Impossible. There's no way he'd be here. _

Her heart finally calmed down and she continued eating. It is too much of a coincidence to see Kuroro Lucifer here. What would he be doing here anyway? He's probably still the Gushiken District and that's a long way to Puerto Andale.

That's right. It's not him. There are a lot of men with jet black hair like his. Why is she being paranoid?

Lost in her thoughts, Kurapika failed to notice the glass doors of the restaurant open. She just continued eating slowly, savouring the delicious meal. And because of that, she also failed to notice a broad figure approaching her table.

She was suddenly pulled out from her train of thoughts when a familiar baritone voice greeted her.

"Hello, Kurapika. How are you?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Strangely enough, Kurapika was able to keep her voice steady as she returned the greeting, despite the fact that her heart is beating erratically again. She swallowed an imaginary lump in her throat. Hundreds of emotions started to invade her chest, making it so tight that she almost can't breathe.

"Hello, Kuroro. I'm fine. You?" she asked, hands slightly shaking with the exchange of greetings, surprising herself with her not-so-obvious-that-she's-scared voice.

"Doing great. Mind if I join you?" the raven-haired man asked calmly.

Kurapika knew that she should refuse, but instead, she found herself shaking her head. "No, not at all."

With that familiar smile, Kuroro Lucifer pulled out the chair and sat in front of her. He looked at her with his mysterious obsidian eyes and Kurapika found herself biting her lower lip with his obvious scrutiny. The waiter approached their new costumer, gave the menu and the man gave out his order, which turned out to be a sophisticated one, so much like him. He looked at the menu then glanced at Kurapika.

"Would you like me to get you a drink?" he asked and the blonde shook her head.

"No, I don't drink. But thank you for the offer."

What the heck is happening? Why are they talking like nothing happened to them? This is not right. She should be angry when this arrogant man shamelessly showed up in front of her. She saw him chuckle and nod, a genuine gesture that she found _pleasing_ to look at.

What the-? Pleasing? She must be crazy.

"What brought you here in Puerto Andale?" Kuroro asked, obviously trying to engage her in a light conversation.

"Work." The blonde curtly replied, knowing that ignoring his question is very rude. But she should keep her responses short so that she could indirectly tell him that she doesn't want to talk to him.

"What would that work be?"

"Information hunting." She looked at him. "And you?" Kurapika mentally slapped herself. She shouldn't have asked him.

"Vacation. I find Puerto Andale perfect for relaxation." He replied, smiling evenly.

For a while, they both sat in an awkward silence. During times like this, it's always Kuroro who breaks it. And as expected, he said the first word.

"Seven years." He said lightly with a smile. "It's been that long. How are you?" the man asked. Knowing Kurapika's personality, Kuroro decided to take it slow instead of instantly demanding the answer he'd been searching for.

"Like I said, I'm fine." She looked down on her plate, deciding to finish her food quickly.

Kuroro took this chance to scrutinize her. She definitely grew up and matured. The face he had missed so much for seven years is finally right in front of him. Her hair was now pass her shoulders, making her look more feminine and mature. He had this sudden urge to touch her blonde hair like the old times but decided against it. He knew she wouldn't appreciate that kind of impulse action.

And besides, he can see her defensive barrier that she had instantly put up when she saw him. No matter how much she tried to hide it, it's very visible. She's wary around him but at least she did not push him away.

"My presence here doesn't bother you, does it?" he asked and he heard the blonde chuckle with thick sarcasm.

"Why would it? You're nothing to me now." She looked at him directly in his eyes as if she meant every word she said. Her aquamarine eyes that he admired were now tinted with another unfamiliar emotion.

_Pain._

"How about seven years ago? Was I something to you?" he managed to counter, staring back with the same fierceness albeit with a gentle tone at the same time.

Kurapika visibly stiffened. Was Kuroro something to her back then? Of course, he was something to her. But what exactly? So many questions yet no answers. The blonde found herself standing up, unable to endure his presence any longer.

"You'll have to excuse me. I'm tired from my trip." She said and took out her purse. Kurapika was about to put a certain amount of money on the table when Kuroro interrupted her.

"I'll take care of the expenses. No worries." He offered generously.

"Well, thank you." Kurapika replied and strode out of the restaurant, heart pounding, eyes almost wavering. Why, of all places, must they meet here? What kind of sick joke is fate playing with them?

She must first finish her work here, leave as soon as possible, and then make sure he never sees her ever again. Maybe he found out that she really is here and he came here to convince her to come back. So that what? So that he can finally get his share of money from her inheritance?

Well, there's no way she's going to let that happen. Ever.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kuroro followed her figure with his observant eyes. What he did a moment ago was definitely stupid. He shouldn't have asked her that question, knowing that she would avoid it. He took out his wallet, hastily pulled out some money, and then put it on the table, paying for his and Kurapika's order. Without waiting for his food, Kuroro also strode out of the restaurant and approached the receptionist's desk.

"Good evening, sir." The receptionist greeted and the man smiled. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"May I know the room number of Kurapika Kuruta?" he asked but the receptionist shook her head.

"I apologize, sir, but we respect out costumer's privacy."

Just then, Kuroro put a considerable amount of money on the desk. "Please?" he added rather sweetly, making the girl blush. Without even thinking about it thoroughly, she nodded then turned her attention back to her computer, searching for Kurapika's name. However, he saw her frown.

"I found no Kurapika Kuruta in the records, sir." She informed.

"How about Kurapika Bethel?" the receptionist did the same thing but the result was the same.

Frowning, Kuroro nodded and turned towards the elevator that Kurapika entered. She's long gone now, probably heading back to her room. Maybe she used another name, a sensible thing to do if she doesn't want anyone to know where she stays. He took out his cell phone and dialled Shalnark's number. The Elite Seven and his Spiders were having a vacation of their own in other parts of the Azian Continent. It seems like none of them is actually interested in coming with him to Puerto Andale except for Yumiko.

A few rings later, his call was finally answered.

"_Danchou?"_ the techy guy asked. Shalnark is somewhere in Jappon with Aki and Nobunaga, touring around and stopping in different onsens.

"Shal, do something for me." He commanded. "Find-." But before Kuroro could finish, a familiar smooth hand took his cell phone away from his ear. He turned his head sideways and an annoyed groan almost escaped his lips.

"My, my. What a coincidence, Kuroro." Alicia Myrtle, his red-haired suitor, greeted, swinging his mobile phone with her hand.

"Alicia." Kuroro replied bitterly. "A coincidence indeed." He added flatly. He knew this would happen. She must have heard that he's coming here when he attended her father's dinner invitation.

"What kind of tone is that, Kuroro dear?" behind Alicia, two more girls of her age were also looking at him hungrily like he was something to eat. This ticked Kuroro but his face did not betray his emotions.

"Why are you here?" he asked as if he's accusing her of ruining his night. "My cell phone, please." He held out his hand and Alicia dropped the device on his palm.

"Why? Am I not allowed to spend my vacation here? That's really mean, Kuroro."

With a sigh, the man looked at her sternly. "Suit yourself." He said dismissively and walked towards the elevator. He heard Alicia and the two other girls giggle as they watched his retreating figure.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kurapika shut the door to her room and went to her Zetsu mode. There's no way Kuroro would know her room number is he can't detect her nen.

So this is how her stay here in this city will go. She could only wish that either she finishes her work without Kuroro's interruptions or Kuroro decides to leave early. The blonde closed her eyes as she leaned her back on the door, wising for the latter to happen.

Suddenly, her mind registered their earlier conversation in the restaurant.

_You're nothing to me now._

Was that what her heart really says? Or is it just her pride speaking?

_Was I something to you?_

Her chest tightened again and she brought her hand up to clutch it.

Seven years. Isn't it long enough already? They had no commitment whatsoever. Their engagement was a bluff. They lived under one roof for almost half a year but that doesn't mean anything. Everything they did a long time ago had no longer anything to do with her life, with his life... and with the twin's life.

_I don't want him to come back._

Karin's voice echoed in her head.

_In fact, I think it's Krisu who doesn't like Papa the most._

Feeling frustrated and definitely stressed, Kurapika walked towards the study table and sat there. She took out her mobile phone and dialled her home number. The twins might still be awake, doing whatever they loved to do. Her call was instantly answered and it was Nanny Rosa.

"Hallo?" Nanny Rosa said in a tired voice.

"Nanny? Are the twins there?" she asked and the Nanny chuckled. Kurapika heard her shout, "_Kids, it's your mom!"_ and it was followed by loud footsteps from upstairs. A few seconds later, Nanny Rosa's old voice was replaced by an excited squeal.

"Mommy!" It was Krisu.

"Krisu." She chuckled, instantly forgetting all that happened a while ago. "How are you there? Are you behaving yourself?"

"I got a star from teacher!" he informed proudly and she imagined him waving the said paper star around. "I got a perfect score in math quiz! It was so easy."

"My turn, Krisu." Kurapika heard Karin demanded and her brother relented.

"Ma!" she called out. "Krisu climbed the apple tree outside. He knows that you'll be angry but he still did it!" her little girl complained and Kurapika heard her son whine out to his sister why she had to rat him out to their mom.

"Tell him not to do that next time." She replied with a stern voice, all the while smiling.

She was right when she told Kuroro that he's nothing to her now. These kids, his son and his daughter, who doesn't exist in his world, had replaced him entirely in her life.

For a while, she chatted with them and got lost in it. Just hearing their voices had given her enough emotional strength to face whatever will happen tomorrow.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Early morning, Kuroro found himself sitting on the lobby, waiting for a certain blonde woman to emerge out of the elevator. He knew that Kurapika would try to wake up very early to avoid him. Though she said that his presence doesn't bother her, her actions say otherwise.

He's wearing sleeveless black shirt paired with dark pants. The weather is particularly hot today, perfect for a nice swim in the open river nearby that leads to the Underground River. Local businessmen here have thought of using their prided Underground River and established stands for river sports like kayaking and river rafting. But what drew many tourists the most is the exploration of the Underground River.

"Good morning, handsome." A familiar sultry voice greeted and Kuroro didn't need to look up to see who it was. Alicia lowered herself to him and sat on his side, legs crossed and an arm around his shoulders. She pressed her body closer to him and Kuroro tried his best not to suddenly push her away.

"Good morning, Alicia." He returned the greeting tonelessly.

"You seem weak. Want me to energize you?" she asked suggestively and ran her hand through his firm arms, drawing little circles seductively. Kuroro nearly shuddered in disgust.

"No, thank you, Alicia. If you don't mind, I'd like to-." Kuroro stopped when the person he had been waiting for emerged out of the elevator. She looked around carefully and froze when she spotted him. For a moment, they locked eyes, until Kurapika broke the contact and walked as if she didn't see him.

"Kuroro? Are you okay?" he heard Alicia ask and he nodded.

"I'm fine." He muttered and stood up to approach the blonde. However, he was pulled back by Alicia and ended up sitting again but this time, with Alicia sitting on his lap.

"Where are you going? Aren't you going to accompany me?" she asked and pouted.

"Who said anything about me accompanying you?" he asked, his expression cold and disapproving. Over the woman's shoulder, he saw Kurapika looking at them with an unreadable face. He had seen that look before. It's the look of a jealous woman. He smirked, feeling slightly happy.

Last night, her words stung him deeply. He just didn't show it.

_You're nothing to me now._

Kurapika looked away and is now talking to a russet-haired man with a camera around his neck. He saw her laugh with him and the man put an arm around her shoulders, leading her out of the hotel, all the while talking about some things. He also saw her clutch the back of his shirt, a forced smile appearing on her face.

"Hey, you're frowning." Alicia pointed out and Kuroro looked at her.

"Am I?" he asked and suddenly stood up despite knowing that Alicia is still sitting on his lap. The woman gave out a light sudden gasp as she fell down on the floor, grabbing the attention of the nearby bystander and employees. Some of them even had the nerve to laugh at her.

"Kuroro!" She shouted angrily and tried to get up. "You purposefully did that, didn't you?"

"Me? I wouldn't dare." Kuroro replied with a sly smile, clearly mocking her. Then, he walked towards the exit door that Kurapika and the russet-haired man gone into, a question dancing inside his head. Alicia was left there, stunned by his actions.

_Who is he?_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** _Oookaaayyy... I'm kind of updating too fast because I need to write the ideas inside my head before they disappear and mess up the plot I've prepared. Yay! There you go! Chapter 2 of Forced Beginnings. I hope you're satisfied with the way the two met again. I've purposely made an annoying OC who is so obsessed with Kuroro to make the story a bit entertaining. Thank you! Read and Review please! By the way, the Underground River is not a fictional place. It is located in my country in a place called Puerto Princesa. It's a beautiful place and is actually one of the Seven Wonders of Nature. :D Tee hee!_

**Next: **_With Alicia always bothering Kuroro, how will Kurapika concentrate on her work? That's right... KURAPIKA. Kuroro, pretending to be oblivious to the fact that Kurapika is avoiding him, tried to get close to her again. Kurapika finally decides to put an end to his continuous advances._


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_ They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

Chapter 3

The Girl in the Picture Frame and Her Hurtful Words

_Click._

Rio smiled at himself as he continued taking pictures of a certain blonde Kuruta, who is busy interviewing another local they came across. It was early morning and as promised, he toured Kurapika around while taking pictures of what he can see as an important part of the new book she's writing. And the picture of her, gathering the information needed, is actually a very important one. It's like a proof that she really is the one who personally compiled the data.

He turned his head and took another picture of some tourists riding a river rafting boat. Looking back at Kurapika, who just finished the interview, an idea assaulted his head as he walked towards her.

"Hey," Rio greeted and Kurapika flashed him a smile.

"You've run out of film?" she asked. "I've noticed you've been taking a lot of pictures."

"Not really." He replied with a shy grin. "I know you are busy with your new book and all but it doesn't hurt for you to experience some fun during your stay here, right?" Kurapika gave him a confused look before clearing what he wanted to say.

"River rafting." Rio grinned broadly. "Wanna try it?"

"Oh." Was all Kurapika could say. "I'm not really into water sports."

"You'll love it!" the young photographer insisted. "It will be so much fun with the water splashing in your face. You'll feel refreshed, trust me."

"Rio, I'm-." But before the blonde could even finish what she's saying, Rio had already grabbed her wrist and tug her towards the stand that lends river rafting equipments.

"Stop. Hey-!" but it seems like Rio hasn't been paying attention to her refusal because of the excitement. Sensing that she's defeated, Kurapika was about to relent when another person tugged her other wrist, stopping both her and Rio from their tracks.

The two turned around and in an instant, Kurapika's heart skipped two beats.

"I believe the lady said no, sir." Kuroro Lucifer's firm voice rang inside her ear and she frowned. What is he doing? Suddenly appearing out of nowhere and interfere with her work... again.

"You did?" Rio asked the blonde, bewildered.

Kurapika looked at Kuroro and pulled her wrist back, effectively releasing her from his grip. The raven-haired man only chuckled as he shoved his hands inside his pants' pockets.

"No." She answered Rio with a forced smile. "Come on. River rafting sounds fun." The blonde added, completely ignoring Kuroro while pushing the young photographer's back towards the river rafting stand again.

As much as possible, she didn't want to have another encounter like last night with him. She already said what she wanted to say so there's no more reason for her to have any contact with him. It's not like they have anything to talk about anyway. And besides, he's very busy with _someone_ else. Kurapika doesn't want to be the one who will spoil his 'relaxation' here.

As if on cue, the red-haired woman she saw back in the lobby came out from the hotel and looked around, probably searching for a certain raven-haired man. Kurapika totally ignored Kuroro when he walked back to the entrance of the hotel, back to his new _woman_.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Now that she's finished with her interview with the locals, her next step is to enter the first 200 meters of the Underground River. Rio had told her that a touring boat comes twice a week, during Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tomorrow is Tuesday and Kurapika decided to wait patiently for the touring boat on the day after tomorrow. But what should she do during her waiting time? She can't possibly start writing now with the little information she collected.

So... might as well kill some time by bathing in the river or kayaking. She definitely won't join another session of river rafting with Rio again. Or maybe, she could visit some local stores like the old times and buy some stuff that Krisu and Karin would love. Yes, she should do that tomorrow.

Kurapika was glad with how the local government of Puerto Andale kept the river clean and fresh. Throwing any kind of garbage on any of the river's parts is strictly prohibited and a severe punishment will be given to anyone who has been caught. Many tourists that came here said that they prefer swimming in the river than in luxurious beaches.

The blonde couldn't agree more.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Tuesday came very fast and as usual, Kurapika woke up the same time like yesterday. She went down to the lobby and ate breakfast in the same restaurant, glad that this time, there's no Kuroro Lucifer sitting on a couch not far away, with a woman almost ravishing him.

Kurapika suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She paid for her food and strode out of the hotel. Like yesterday, the weather is very hot and humid, but the trees and plants at least gave out a refreshing feeling. Tourists and locals were already dipping themselves in the cool water of the river, eager to escape the unforgivable heat. But because she just finished eating, she had to give it an hour of rest before also diving into the water and cool down her body.

Sighing, Kurapika walked towards a wooden bench nearby. The blonde watched as the people enjoyed themselves and vaguely wondered what would have happened if she brought along the twins. She's sure they would enjoy boat riding and fishing. Gon taught the twins how to fish and even gave Krisu his precious fishing rod that Ging once owned. She was grateful that her friends understood her decision of estranging the twins from their father. Leorio, now a successful doctor who bought the Fuji Memorial Hospital in Yorkshin, certainly stood as the perfect father figure. Karin particularly like it when Leorio visits them whenever she's not around. The twins enjoyed his company but not matter how Kurapika looked at it; he can never fill that empty position in their lives.

But the person she was the most thankful of is Aki. Aki is the only one who knows about her pregnancy before she left. Three months after her disappearance, she called her secretly to tell her not to say anything to Kuroro or to anyone else, not even the Elite Seven. Aki agreed, but in one condition; she must tell her where she lives. Seeing no other option, Kurapika relented. So, every time she changes her address, she would secretly call Aki to tell her. In return, Aki would narrate everything that is happening to the company, to the Elite Seven, to the Water Lily Orphanage, and to Kuroro Lucifer.

Speaking of Kuroro Lucifer, she didn't realize that he's currently standing not far away from where she is sitting, looking right at her. Kurapika sighed and contemplated whether she should ignore him again or stand up and walk far away to another part of the river, where he can't see her. The latter choice seemed very tempting but doing it is already too late. The raven-haired man is already approaching her and she looked away, refusing to meet his eyes.

Why the heck is he doing this? Didn't she make it clear to him that she wants nothing more to do with him?

Oh yeah. He still wants his money and if he wants to get it, he needs her.

"Came for a swim?" Kuroro asked when he was a foot away from her and seated himself on the empty space beside her. He leaned his back casually and looked at Kurapika.

"No. I came here to think how nice this day would be if I spend it _alone_." She replied, sarcasm ringing in her tone, purposefully emphasizing the last word.

Ignoring it, Kuroro continued. "That's very unsociable of you." He said with that usual smile he'd flash to anyone. "You should fix that."

"And why should I?" she asked tonelessly.

"Because if you don't, you'll grow old and single." He chuckled and Kurapika slightly frowned.

"Well, it's none of your business whether I decide to go into a relationship or not." She almost hissed at him. "You're lucky though. You don't have to be sociable to get what you want. Most women here have their eyes on you." Her words where tinted with so much sarcasm and annoyance that Kuroro swear he saw her shoulders shook.

The man smirked. "Yeah? I didn't notice." He stated rather casually. "If they want me, they wouldn't look at me that way."

"You sound like you've been with a lot of woman."

This time, Kuroro laughed sardonically and Kurapika looked at him. "Did you expect me to live a single life just because I'm still technically engaged with you?" he asked and lied with a mocking tone and the woman beside him flushed. She looked away and he continued. "Yes, I've been with women and I'm going to have a lot more before I'm through. Don't tell me there hasn't been any man in your life in the past seven years."

"Yes, there have been many men in my life. And most of them are much better than you in many aspects." She countered angrily but all of it was a lie. What a 'good' way to start her morning. "And about the engagement, we better forget that it ever happened."

"Why?" he asked. "I haven't forgotten about it. And so did you."

"Yes, I have."

"Liar. You haven't."

"Why are you so-." Kurapika was about to snap at him when Kuroro's hand suddenly rose up and shot towards her neck. The next thing she knew, he was holding up the small chain necklace she was wearing, with the familiar silver ruby ring as its pendant. Her eyes widened slightly.

"Then why are you still wearing this around your neck?" he asked seriously and Kurapika's hand reached out to grab it back.

She was silent as she clutched the ring on her palm. She looked at Kuroro's left hand and to her great astonishment; she saw the same onyx ring she had given him seven years ago. Another thunder of emotions invaded her chest and she started breathing heavily.

"Yesterday, you were also wearing that and when we talked in the restaurant, too, Kurapika. That's hardly called forgetting, right?"

Kurapika no longer know what to say anymore. Instead, she stood up and walked towards the edge of the river, with Kuroro following her with his eyes. She held out the palm that was holding the ring and suddenly opened it, causing the ring to fall into the deep part of the river. The blonde turned around to face him bravely, a cold expression donning her face.

"There." She said icily. "Now I've officially forgotten about it."

But Kuroro's face did not change. He strode towards her and stopped to whisper in her ear. "I won't let you." He simply declared in a low voice that sent a shiver down the blonde's spine.

Suddenly, without any warning, he dove straight towards the water, causing a huge splash and sprinkles of water to hit Kurapika's back. The blonde turned around in shock and looked at the surface of water where Kuroro disappeared into. Her heart was pounding again as her eyes frantically searched for any signs of him.

"Kuroro!" she called out but no response.

But after a few seconds, the water bubbled up and Kuroro emerged out of the water, panting heavily because of the pressure underneath. He swiftly swam back to where Kurapika stood and the blonde kneeled down, subconsciously helpinghim pull himself out of the water. Through his wet bangs that were almost covering his eyes, he could see her eyes almost tinted with red and concern. He smirked and opened his clenched palm, revealing the silver ruby ring she threw earlier.

Almost immediately, her eyes turned scarlet upon seeing the ring and her hand flew. The next thing Kuroro knew is the stinging pain that just contacted his right cheek. His partly hidden obsidian eyes registered shock when the realization that Kurapika had just slapped him dawned inside his head.

"You idiot!" she shouted angrily, attracting the attention of the bathing onlookers nearby.

Kuroro could barely suppress a smile when his hand pushed back the wet strands of his hair, revealing his fair forehead with the same cross tattoo. He suddenly let his hand crawl up to her eyes and covered them. Shocked, Kurapika could only sit rigidly.

"Stop triggering your scarlet eyes or you'll be discovered." He whispered and felt her body relax. A few seconds later, Kurapika slowly took his hands away and looked at him, her eyes finally returned to its normal blue hue and he smiled genuinely, making her heart thump. He had missed her scarlet eyes so much that he was so happy inside to catch a glimpse of it again, even if it's just for a few seconds.

"I'm going back." The blonde declared and stood up. "Give me the ring back." she demanded and held out her hand. However, Kuroro only gave her a sly smirk.

"Hmm? The ring? I thought you don't want it anymore." He said and Kurapika glared at him. "Finders keepers, Kurapika." He pocketed the ring and also stood up. "I'm keeping it. I don't want you throwing important memories away like they're worth nothing to you." His voice stung her so much that the pain almost felt real.

_Throwing away memories? It's because of you that I'm forced to do this!_

"And who do you think you are? You just suddenly barge into my life again and ruin it." She hissed angrily. "Just who do you think you are?" Kurapika bit her lower lip, a familiar gesture to Kuroro that indicates she's preventing the sudden assault of tears.

"I could ask you the same thing. Who do you think you are to just leave my life without telling me the reason, Kurapika?" he countered venomously that Kurapika was almost at loss for words. "What did you have in mind at that time? Seven years. You didn't even contact me or anyone in the Elite Seven. That was really selfish."

_Selfish._

How could he say something like that when everything is his fault?

"Selfish?" she hissed and bowed her head. She clenched her hands that were bristling in anger. This is not the time and place for them to fight. It has just been four days since she arrived and met him again and now they're having a big confrontation in a public place. "You're the one who had been selfishly using me for your schemes seven years ago."

"Schemes?" Kuroro asked, confused.

If it weren't for the curious people looking at them, she would have given him another slap for acting like he had no idea. Finally deciding to let him have the ruby ring, she spun on her heels and briskly walked back to the hotel, away from him. First thing she wanted to do is to call and demand her boss to change the hotel she stays in.

Kuroro just stood there as she walked away. "You're running away again." He whispered to himself with a dejected smile. He shouldn't have done that because he knew that she has a habit of running away from situations that goes out of hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Evening the same day, Kurapika was upset at herself for not to be able to take a brief swim in the river. After the confrontation with Kuroro that morning, she decided to lock herself in her room. She asked her boss to transfer her but no matter how much she pleaded, he just won't allow her to. She didn't want to eat dinner knowing that he'd be there too. However, her stomach is also pleading her to feed it and in the end, she rode in the elevator to the ground floor.

She sighed in relief upon arriving in the same restaurant without any encounter with him. She had been vehemently wishing that everything would soon be over in two weeks so that she could start on her book and go home to spend her fourth Christmas with the twins. After giving her order to the waiter, she took out her cell phone and dialled her home number again to make her usual evening call to her kids.

Her call was answered by Karin this time, who immediately told her of what Krisu had done bad again. She laughed and then heard her son struggle to get the receiver from his sister. When he succeeded, he instantly said sorry and asked if she could buy him a guinea pig this time when she comes home. Kurapika said 'no' but she knew that she'd just comply in the end. When her order arrived, she said good bye to the twins then turned to eat her dinner to calm her demanding stomach.

"Hi. Mind if I join you?" A familiar baritone voice asked and Kurapika looked up, only to be greeted by Kuroro's smiling face. How could he smile like that like nothing happened?

Before she could even say anything, he already pulled out a chair and sat down. He called out the waiter and also gave his order. Kurapika could only look at him blankly.

"Yes, I do." She responded and glared at him. "I do mind you sitting there. As you can see, there are other empty chairs out there."

"Well, that certainly is very unsociable of you." He said in an amused tone and stared at her.

"I know. You don't have to repeat that." Kurapika slightly twitched at the thought of him staring at her intently.

"Why? Is this seat reserved for your date tonight?" he asked mockingly.

"I came here for my work not for messing around. And even if it is, it's none of your business."

"Still as prickly as ever."

Kurapika sighed frustratingly and finally decided to return his stare. "Look, just because we happen to coincidentally run into each other after seven years doesn't mean we have to be in each other's company all the time, does it?" she said seriously, meaning every word of it. "Personally, I'd prefer it if we didn't see each other again. But since we did, why don't we just mind our own businesses and not bother each other, hn? It'll make me perfectly _happy_."

"Well, you certainly made that crystal clear." Kuroro openly frowned at her, making her heart skip. Did she go too far? Well, too late for regrets. "But before I go, I need you to answer my question." He requested. Feeling tired of arguing with him, Kurapika nodded weakly. But she didn't expect his question to be simple... but deep.

"Seven years ago, why did you leave?" The simple question caught her off guard that she almost dropped her fork. "If you tell me truthfully, I'll leave you alone like you wanted."

Kurapika struggled to answer and she looked away. Her hands that froze in mid air were now shaking a little and Kuroro took notice of it. He reached out and touched her hand and she almost instantly flinched.

"Tell me." He whispered gently and Kurapika almost felt that she melted. Her cheeks flushed and she berated herself for acting like a schoolgirl in love with the school heartthrob.

Bravely, she raised her head to look at him. "Because," she paused and Kuroro waited. "... I got tired of you."

That certainly wasn't the answer he had been looking for. Kuroro was taken aback and he frowned. Her eyes were telling him that she's lying. If he pushed it anymore further, not only will she continue to lie but she might also try to forget the truth. He won't allow that. He pulled back his hand and smiled at her.

"I see." He simply said and leaned his back on the chair, arms crossed.

"Now that I've told you, go and sit somewhere else. Your girlfriend is waiting for you." She gestured for him to look behind and Kuroro did.

He saw Alicia Myrtle entering the restaurant and looking at him. Kuroro groaned inwardly in annoyance when the red-haired woman sauntered towards him in a sexy cat walk.

"Hey, handsome." She purred and rested her hand on his shoulder. "I didn't expect to see you here." Alicia looked at Kurapika with an accusing look. "And who would this be? Your date?"

"Yes."

"No."

Both words were simultaneously said by the two. The 'yes' by Kuroro and the 'no' by Kurapika. Alicia looked at them with a confused expression but it was suddenly changed when she looked at Kurapika intently.

"Say, she looks really familiar." The red hair said.

"Alicia, meet Kurapika." Kuroro smirked at the said Alicia before adding, "She's the girl in the picture frame."

Now it's time for Kurapika to look confused with the way Kuroro had introduced her to his new 'girlfriend'. Alicia's eyes widened slightly and Kuroro stood up.

"As promised, I'll go sit somewhere else." He said and walked away, with Alicia following behind him. She gave Kurapika one final disapproving look before focusing all her attention back to Kuroro, who had sat down not far away from her, his eyes never leaving her figure.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**A/N:** _I'm going to focus on how Kuroro will be able to extract the answers he wanted from Kurapika so expect many fluffy moments in the next chapters. Hope this chapter is okay. Tell me what you think about it! Read and Review! If you have questions, I could explain them through the next chapter. Tee hee!_

**Next: **_More KuraKuro moments. Kuroro knew that she's lying. He asks Shalnark to come to Puerto Andale to hack the system. Kurapika's presence made him forget why he originally came to Andale. But he finds a certain name in the guest list and he visits that room. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__ I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 4

Reconciliation

The touring boat is scheduled to arrive 3 in the afternoon so Wednesday early morning, Kurapika decided to walk around the local market and buy anything she finds interesting. Rio had told her that there's a pet store nearby and she opted to buy the guinea pig that Krisu is dying to have because she wouldn't have another chance like this the next day. She would be very busy starting on her new book and will probably not be able to get out of her hotel room- a good thing for her because it meant no Kuroro Lucifer encounter.

Puerto Andale's local market mostly sold things that were locally made. Almost all items are handcrafted by the people and such items fascinated and always perk up Kurapika's curiosity. The blonde remembered the old times with her Uncle Kairo, when they have their monthly vacations and she would visit the malls and the market to buy interesting things and try their local viands. She bought more than she expected but it didn't matter since it's just a once in a lifetime opportunity to shop in Puerto Andale. And besides, Kurapika made sure that what she bought is useful or fun to use, in the twins' case.

Kurapika visited the pet shop that Rio told her about and looked for the guinea pig that her little boy wanted. If she were to give him another pet, what would he ask next? An iguana perhaps? Or maybe a parrot? She chuckled at the thought as her eyes roamed on a metal cage housing lots of guinea pigs. Gon must have influenced her son to become an animal lover. She chose a certain one with brown fur decorated with black and white spots. She also bought a small green cage and some Timothy hay to feed to the guinea pig while she's on her work.

After the care taker of the pet shop had given her the pet she ordered, Kurapika decided to go back to the hotel as fast as possible and settle down the things she bought. Then maybe, she could finally have a little swim in the river that she wanted the most. Remembering the river brought back the memories of the events yesterday, when Kuroro dived into the water to retrieve the ring she threw. Well, Kurapika didn't want to throw the ring but her pride got the better of her and she carelessly did it.

"Guinea pigs?"

Speak of the annoying devil.

Kurapika felt her breath stop and she spun on her heels, almost dropping her bags in surprise. She furrowed her eyebrows.

"I didn't know you like little pets like that." Kuroro said amusedly. He's also carrying a few souvenir bags, indicating that he also shopped a little.

"There are many things you don't know about me." She replied cynically. _Yes, many things._

"Hmm? Really? Care to share what those are?" he taunted but the blonde ignored his question.

"Why are you here?" she harshly snapped the raven-haired man in front of her.

Kuroro smirked. "Oh. Is this private property? Am I trespassing?" he asked mockingly.

"Are you following me or something? Seriously Kuroro, I thought we already agreed to mind or own businesses last night." She hissed at him and walked out of the pet shop, forgetting to get her change from the care taker.

"We did. Only for that night."

The man followed suit, keeping a considerable distance behind her. But still, Kurapika can feel his eyes boring on her back, making her uncomfortable. She chose to ignore him all the way to the hotel and upon arriving at the lobby, the same red-haired woman named Alicia was waiting for him. The redhead shot her a criticizing look before approaching the two of them. She stopped in front of Kurapika and smiled at her, a smile so fake that the blonde felt disgusted.

"Well, were you two out on a date early morning? How unethical." Alicia spat at them and looked at Kuroro. "Hey, I was waiting for you. You were up early."

"And why would you wait for me?" Kuroro asked, sounding disapproving.

"And why not? We made plans, didn't we?"

"No, we didn't, Alicia."

Alicia turned to Kurapika. "Well, you can go now." She gestured for the blonde to continue walking.

With an annoying sigh, Kurapika responded by confronting the unreasonable redhead. "Look, Alicia, if you're jealous, you don't have to be that rude to me because there's nothing going on between us. Fix your manners because that's what _he_ likes in women." She stated and resumed walking towards the elevator swiftly, leaving the redhead stunned by her words.

Kuroro chuckled amusedly and shoved his hands in his pockets casually. "Kurapika." He called out but the blonde continued walking, clearly implying that she didn't want to talk to him. "If you want the ring back then come to room 1005."

"Kuroro!" Alicia exclaimed but the man only walked towards the restaurant where Kurapika usually eats. In all honesty, he hadn't had any breakfast yet.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ne, Puerto Andale sure looks beautiful." Aki muttered and smiled to her companion. She just arrived from Jappon with Shalnark under the orders of Kuroro Lucifer while Nobunaga chose to stay behind to explore his birthplace some more.

"Danchou said he's staying there." Shalnark pointed at a certain hotel. "In room 1005."

"Right. Let's go."

The two walked towards the hotel and entered the elevator. Truth to tell, Shalnark had no idea why his Danchou suddenly called him last night, asking him to come to Puerto Andale urgently. He heard how serious Kuroro's voice over the phone was and the techy guy did not waste anymore time. He immediately took the first flight to Puerto Andale with Aki, who insisted on coming with him.

Upon arriving in front of Room 1005, Shalnark knocked three times and the door opened immediately. It was Yumiko who opened it and Shalnark smiled at her. She was holding the same folder she carries around that contains most of Kuroro's schedules and meetings in Bethel Company.

"Ne, Yumiko-san. Is Danchou there?"

"Yes, sir." She opened the door completely and Aki and Shalnark stepped inside. They looked around and finally saw Kuroro sitting near the windows, reading one of Ayumi Suzuki's books. Shalnark knew that when he reads her books, he doesn't want to be disturbed. So he waited for a while until Kuroro closed the book and looked up to him.

"Danchou." He smiled at him. Yumiko already left the room to go back to hers. "Why did you call me here?" he asked and Kuroro stood up.

"First things first." The leader said. "How's your trip?" he asked and Shalnark grinned.

"It was refreshing, Danchou. Thank you."

Then, Kuroro turned to Aki. "Did Shalnark treat you well?"

A sudden faint blush crept on both their faces, causing Kuroro to chuckle lightly.

"Danchou!" his Spider exclaimed and crossed his arms.

"Did you bring your laptop?" Kuroro immediately changed the topic and walked towards the bedside table to put the book down. "Do me a favour and hack this hotel's guest list." He ordered.

"The guest list? Mind if I ask why?" Shalnark said and sat down on a nearby couch with Aki, opened his bag and took out the laptop he always uses for hacking. He turned it on and waited for his Danchou to answer his earlier question.

Kuroro was silent for a moment as he sat down again on the chair near the window. He looked outside and stared at the people bathing in the river.

"I found Kurapika." He stated calmly as possible.

Shalnark and Aki both sat rigidly and looked at him. The two were donning the same shocked, confused, and glad expressions that Kuroro did not see. He paid more attention on the scene outside, vaguely wondering how he's going to make his plan work.

"Hack the system and give me the list. She's also staying in this hotel but I don't know what room." He explained. "She used another name." Kuroro added.

Shalnark nodded understandingly. The sandy blonde guy knew how much his Danchou wanted to see the missing Kuruta for the past seven years. In fact, he stopped engaging himself with the other Ryodan operations for a while and devoted himself into developing the Bethel Group of Companies. He can see his leader's weak side though the man would hide it perfectly well.

Aside from developing the Bethel Companies, he had been searching for the remaining scarlet eyes around the world. In the end, only two more scarlet eyes are left to complete the 36 pairs. Shalnark would often see his Danchou stare at those eyes, floating inside two cylindrical glasses, probably thinking of the Kuruta's own scarlet eyes again.

"Alright. I'll start right away." The young Spider said and beside him, Aki looked disturbed.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"These pictures are amazing, Rio." Kurapika complimented as Rio showed her the pictures he had taken of the Underground River.

The two just finished the touring boat and now came back after almost one hour of exploring the first 200 meters of the Underground River. Kurapika was absolutely breathless when they entered the cave. The first thing that greeted her was the darkness, but when her eyes finally adjusted to it, she almost instantly fell in love with the sight. Breathtaking stalagmites and stalactites hang on the cave's roof and walls, giving it a mysterious aura. Kurapika used Gyou and saw tiny life auras spilling out of those stones.

Rio was also fascinated despite the fact that he had visited the cave for a hundred times before. Kurapika is even more excited about what lies beyond the 200 meters limitation of the cave. Her professional photographer told her that the 200 meter limitation was established because of the dangerous underwater currents and the steep, sharp rocks lining everywhere in that area. But there's a legend that Rio once told her that the real reason why there was a limit is because of the beautiful _glowing_ stalagmites and stalactites found there. The glow was because of an unknown cause and if the blonde writer investigates and unveils the truth, her book would be her greatest work in her whole writing career.

After chatting with Rio for a while, Kurapika finally decided to go back and start writing. She had enough data to begin the first few pages of her book that will introduce Puerto Andale and its people. She entered the hotel and then the elevator. She was about to press the number seven (because her room is in floor number seven), when the blonde remembered Kuroro's words.

_If you want the ring back then come to room 105._

Yes, Kurapika wanted the ring back. The silver ruby ring wasn't really directly given by Kuroro. It's from her Uncle Kairo, who gave it to Kuroro to give it to her. She wants it back because it's her uncle's last keepsake. With a sigh, she found herself pressing the number 10. For once, she should drop her pride and face him bravely. After that, no more encounter with him... if she can help it.

Kurapika stiffly stepped out of the elevator when it stopped at the tenth floor, and walked towards the hallway, looking for room 1005. When she finally found it, she almost stopped breathing. Kurapika dumbly stared at the room number and her hands unconsciously rose up to knock gently at the door. But after a few seconds, no one opened it. She knocked again, this time louder, but it bore the same results.

_He must be out messing around._ Kurapika whispered in her head while she touched the door knob to turn it. To her surprise, the door is not locked. The blonde opened it completely, revealing an empty room covered with a familiar masculine scent. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Great. I wasted five minutes of my life." She muttered annoyingly and closed the door. Then, she walked back as quickly as possible towards the elevator to head to her room and start on her book.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kuroro opened the door slightly when nobody responded to his knocks. Room 0708 is Ayumi Suzuki's room, if Shalnark's list is correct. This female writer had been his only purpose when he came here, until he found Kurapika again. He had completely forgotten about her but thanks to Shalnark's list, he was glad to know that she's staying in the same hotel as his. After hacking, Shalnark and Aki decided to go on a night date around the local market, leaving Kuroro to attend to his business.

But when nobody answered his knocks, despite knowing that it's rude to barge inside someone's private room, he did it anyway, eager to finish his business with the famous writer so he could focus his head and attention to Kurapika solely. Upon entering, he looked around the simple room and smiled. He saw a few papers on the study table near the windows and he walked over to read them. The papers must be the rough drafts for her new book.

Spinning on his heels, he spotted a few familiar bags lining on the floor near the bed. On the bedside table, he saw a small green cage quietly sitting there. The man strode towards the cage and raised it up, looking at its small door to look what's inside. Like what he expected, a small brown guinea pig with black and white spots is sitting inside, eating a lot on Timothy hay. Kuroro put the cage down and explored the room some more. He saw a lot of books piling on the couch, all by Ayumi Suzuki, and he walked over it to see them for himself. Some of the books were the ones that haven't been released yet. The Spider head fingered them silently.

If his suspicions were correct, then Kurapika Kuruta is Ayumi Suzuki.

The door suddenly clicked open and Kuroro heard a familiar voice ringing inside the room.

"Maybe I should use this picture."

Then, a certain blonde Kuruta casually stepped inside, shuffling a couple of photographs on her hand. Kuroro could only stand, stunned and speechless by the sight. Kurapika also halted on her tracks when she felt another presence inside her room. Looking up, her aquamarine eyes widened slightly when they were met by obsidian ones and she instantly dropped the pictures she was holding.

Kuroro, snapping back to his senses, walked towards her and bent down to gather the pictures on the ground. Standing up, he handed back to her with a smile.

"Here." He said and Kurapika shakily took them back. "Sorry for intruding."

"How..." the blonde trailed off.

"Ayumi Suzuki." He whispered and she looked at him. "Is she you?" he asked and Kurapika nodded weakly. She's not the type to deny her identity as the famous writer so if anyone asks her if she's Suzuki, she would tell them the truth.

Chuckling, the man took a few steps back. "I'm a big fan of your works." He explained.

"Thanks."

The blonde sauntered towards the study table to put the pictures down, all the while, Kuroro followed her figure carefully. She has forgotten to tell Kuroro to get out of her room because of the shock. It must be too much for her to handle.

"Kurapika." He called out when the blonde made no attempt to turn around and face him again. "We need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about." She retorted stubbornly and Kuroro found himself nearly losing his patience.

"Yes, there is. We have a lot of unfinished businesses to settle and I'm not going to let this chance pass."

Kurapika turned around to look at him but was shocked when she saw him lock the door of her room.

"What are you doing?" she asked, the indignant tone in her voice overwhelming.

"You're not running away this time, Kurapika. No one will interrupt us. If you want this done then tell me why you left seven years ago? Just when I came back to fulfil my promise, it's your turn to disappear... again." Kuroro said venomously, his mind being flooded by the time when she disappeared for two months after the ship wreck incident. He had promised himself not to lose her again and he's not about to break that vow. If he needs to be this forceful, then so be it.

"Get out, Kuroro or I'll-."

"You'll what? Shout for help? That's so unlike you, Kurapika." He mocked and the blonde's eyes twitched in anger.

"Fine. You want my answers?" she dropped the bag she was carrying and rummage through it, looking for her wallet. Kuroro looked at her as she pulled out a small blue memory card and tossed it to him. "That's my answer. Now, kindly get out of my room so I could start my work without distractions."

"What's this?" He asked holding up the memory card.

Before Kurapika could answer his question, her phone suddenly rang and she pulled it out of her bag. The plasma screen read _'Home'_ and she reluctantly look and Kuroro, who nodded for her to answer the call. She answered it in a whisper, turning around from him.

"Hello?" she said over the line.

"Kurapika!" Nanny Rosa's voice rang loudly that even Kuroro caught a little bit of it.

"Nanny?" Kurapika asked, voice still low. "What's wrong?"

"It's Karin! She' in the hospital right now! I tried to contact you this morning but I can't get through! You have to come home immediately! She's in critical condition." her voice was frantic and nervous that it made Kurapika worried.

"Why? What happened?" she didn't bother to whisper anymore. It's her daughter they're talking about and what a bad timing to have Kuroro listen to her right at this moment. However, she pushed those thought aside first, more worried of what's going on to her child.

"She got into an accident in school! The teachers said she and Krisu were trying to skip their classes again and was hit by a car while carelessly crossing the street!" Nanny Rosa is now crying and sobbing. "Krisu is so worried and he cried the whole day, looking for you!"

Kurapika's knees suddenly felt weak and she sat down on the chair nearby, her phone still stuck on her ear. Sensing that something wrong happened, Kuroro deliberately walked towards her and touch her shoulder. She didn't flinch on his touch like he expected, instead, he saw her eyes turn scarlet and right at that moment he knew that something grievous happened to cause her to react that way.

"Who was it?" he asked, not afraid that she might suddenly snap at him.

"I need to go back... now." Kuroro heard her whisper to herself and she stood up, hung up, strolled towards the wardrobe and opened it.

"Kurapika." He called out but the blonde seemed deaf as she took out her clothes and stuffed them inside a bag that she took out from underneath her bed. "What's wrong?"

The blonde suddenly stopped on packing up when she felt Kuroro's hand clutching her arm. She suddenly realized that small pearly beads of tears came strolling down her cheeks. Kurapika was so afraid. Just last night, Krisu was cheerfully talking to her on the phone, telling her how fun it would be if she would buy a guinea pig that will become his hamster's friend. On the other hand, Karin was always complaining to her how naughty her brother could be and how she spoiled him too much. She's not going to lose her. Her kids need her and she'll be there no matter what.

"I don't know what's happening but you can't go back at this time. No boat will take you back to the port." She heard Kuroro say seriously. "But if you want, I can take you back. I came here on a private blimp."

She breathed heavily, taking his offer into consideration. If ever he accompanies her to the hospital that Nanny Rosa told her about, there's a big chance that he'll find out about the twins. No- scratch that- he'll definitely find out about the twins and who they really are in his life.

"Seeing you act this way, I don't think you should let your pride get in the way. It'll only take a few minutes to get to the airport." Kuroro continued and Kurapika looked at him. He smiled gently as he brushed away the tear from her eyes. "I'm going to hear your answer later." He said, referring to the memory card. "I think what you're going through right now is more important."

Nodding weakly, Kurapika resumed packing her things with Kuroro helping her pack the books and other things that were scattered in her room. For once, the blonde decided to forget everything that he did that hurt her. Her first priority is Krisu and Karin.

_Krisu is so worried and he cried the whole day, looking for you._

Kurapika could practically see her son's tears, calling for her, wanting to embrace her.

_She's in critical condition._

The fear crept up inside her chest again and for the first time in seven years, she was thankful that Kuroro was beside her.

After packing up, Kuroro summoned his Skill Book after a long time and used the usual teleportation skill to grab some things from his room that he would need. When he returned, they're now ready to go. The man called Shalnark and asked him to take care of the expenses for him and Kurapika. Yumiko was the one who readied the private blimp that was resting in a small non-commercial Puerto Andale airport.

Upon arriving, Kurapika and Kuroro wasted no time and immediately boarded the blimp. Like what the raven-haired man said, it only took them 10 minutes to arrive in the main airport of the country. Then, they quickly boarded on a private plane again that was faster than any other airplanes.

During the trip, Kurapika was awfully quiet. Kuroro sat beside her and was fingering the memory card that she gave him. He vaguely wondered what is really in this memory card.

"Why are you helping me?" the blonde suddenly inquired and Kuroro nearly jumped in his seat. "Why are you helping me when you don't even know what's going on?"

"Do I need a reason to help you?" he countered with a gentle tone and she smiled lightly.

"Inside that card..." the blonde began, looking at the memory card. "... is a video of you and Hisoka."

"Me and Hisoka?" he asked.

"It was recorded seven years ago and Fuji gave that to me." Kurapika can't believe she's bringing this up again. But it seems like her body has mind of its own. "You... said in the video... that you only want my money which you will use for Ryuusegai... that's why you agreed in the engagement. After you've got the money, you'll leave me immediately." She swallowed an imaginary lump and bit her lower lip. "That's why I left you first. I don't want you to get what you want. So now that you know everything, I-."

The blonde suddenly stopped when she felt something soft press against her lips. Her eyes widened when she realize that Kuroro had leant forward and is now kissing her. She was rigid for a few seconds before she submitted to the contact willingly. The kiss awakened many emotions that had been sleeping for seven years and was locked away in fear. Now Kurapika realized how much she had missed the man so much. She responded to him passionately and how glad she is that they're riding his private plane. Her hands crept up to grasp his dark hair. The kiss felt so hear melting and so... right.

When Kuroro pulled back with a ragged breathing, he chuckled at her. "And you seriously believed what the video said? I thought you're better than that." He said amusedly, making the blonde flush. "Think about it, Kurapika. I didn't agree to the engagement because of the money. I can perfectly handle that aspect even without Bethel's money."

"Then who's the person in the video?" she retorted, face still flushing. She can't believe that she had let him kiss her just like that!

"Did it ever occur to you that there are a lot of nen users out there who can use shape shifting?" he asked. "You're a smart woman and Fuji will do everything to separate us because he's obsessed with you."

"Like Alicia is with you." The blonde whispered but the man heard her.

"Alicia means nothing to me. She's a married woman now, Kurapika." Kuroro chuckled. "I can't believe this... really." He leaned back on his chair, feeling more relaxed and glad. "A simple blue chip separated us for seven years." Kuroro suddenly crushed the memory card in his palm and threw it at his side, surprising the Kuruta.

"Kuroro!" she called out and the man turned to her.

"You've grown up, Kurapika. I can understand why you acted that way seven years ago. But now..." he paused, his obsidian eyes boring into her blue ones. "... why don't we start from the very _beginning_, hmm? Come back to me. Did you know how much I missed you?"

Heart thumping, Kurapika didn't know what to say. She smiled at herself and stared back at him. He missed her and so did she.

"You'd hate me." The blonde simply said.

"And why would I hate you?" he asked, bewildered by her announcement.

"Because I hid two important people from you."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Their trip took them only 40 minutes thanks to Kuroro's plane. Kurapika and Kuroro hurriedly took a taxi cab towards the hospital where Nanny Rosa is. The blonde is not sure how Kuroro will take it a since she didn't tell him yet. She's not even sure how she will take it herself. What if Kuroro will hate her? What if he will take the twins away from her? What will she do then? Shaking those thoughts away, the two rushed to a certain room where her daughter stays in.

Entering the room, three figures greeted her. The biggest form is embracing a smaller one while the third figure is motionlessly lying on the hospital bed, unconcious, dextrose attached to her hand, and an oxygen tube connected to her nose. Kurapika stood stiffly, her eyes almost watering at the sight that greeted her and Kuroro furrowed his eyebrows. He heard a couple of soft sobs from a raven-haired child who was embracing an old woman nearby. The child looked up and met his eyes, and then he turned his gaze to Kurapika and wriggled out of the old woman's hold.

"Mommy!" he shouted happily and ran towards Kurapika. The blonde kneeled down and met her son, hugging him tightly. The little boy cried and cried, all the while explaining what happened.

"It's... m-my fault. I-If I didn't..." the boys trailed off and his mother hushed him.

"It's okay now, Krisu. I'm here. Sshh.." Kurapika stroked the boy's back to calm him down.

Kuroro just stood there, shocked, confused, glad, angry... you name it. He watched as Kurapika tried to hush him but it was futile. Suddenly, he felt as if his chest would just burst. Emotions stirred inside him as he, too, kneeled down beside the Kuruta to meet the young boy's eye level.

Quickly, distracted by the sudden appearance of the man, Krisu wiped his tears away and looked at Kuroro instead. In return, Kuroro smiled at him and held out a hand to ruffle his dark hair.

"Hello, son."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**A/N:** _Oh emm! So, it takes one accident to bring them back together? Haha! Now, the real Forced Beginning begins! Sorry Karin! I badly wanted to reconcile the two so that they'd be a happy family!_

**Next: **_Like what I said, the real Forced Beginnings begins. They're going to start a new life with the twins now. However, different problems occur because of the lack of relationship and bonding between the twins and Kuroro. How will the man make up for seven years of his absence? Kurapika decides to go back to the Underground River to finish what she started after everything is okay._


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spelling and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 5

The Bond He Wanted

_One week later..._

Karin finally woke up three days ago and how Kurapika felt so relieve when the first word that her little girl uttered was her name. She immediately attended to her needs, giving her grated apples and medicines that the doctor prescribed. Anytime now, they could take her back home now so that she could recover. Kurapika healed some of Karin's minor scratches with the help of her holy chain and let the broken bone of her arm to heal naturally. The blonde was very thankful that there was no major injury in the head or in any vital parts of her body and the doctor also said that the little blonde did not suffer from any kind of trauma from the accident.

Krisu on the other hand had been staying on his sister's side all the time, entertaining her and telling her funny stories. Kurapika found out that Krisu was the one who originally ran away. Karin, always being the responsible sister, ran out to catch her brother but unfortunately, she was hit by a car. The driver shamelessly ran away and it angered the twins' mother. Not only Kurapika was angry but also Kuroro. He ordered his assistant to go and find whoever it is no matter what.

Kurapika sighed as she walked towards her daughter and held out the pictures of the Underground River that Rio sent her. Karin happily took it from her and shuffled through the photos, asking her mother the stories behind them.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Kuroro and Krisu are sitting on a nearby couch, with the latter resting on his father's lap, playing with the green cage containing the guinea pig she bought back in Puerto Andale. Kurapika could tell that Krisu is sort of uncomfortable. She can't blame him. If she's in his shoes, she'd feel the same way when his father, who had been absent for seven years, suddenly appears again.

Krisu shifted a little and jumped down from his father's lap. Kuroro held the green cage for his son and the little boy opened it then took out the guinea pig. The little animal, unlike the hamster, is so well-behaved as it cuddled itself on the boy's warm palm.

"Have you thought of a name for him?" Kuroro asked and his son looked up to him.

"I don't know..." he answered shyly and Kuroro put the cage away, carried his son, and then put him back on his lap. The boy leaned his head back to his father chest while patting the guinea pig on his palm.

Kurapika turned his attention back to Karin, who was also watching her father and brother's bonding. The little girl frowned and looked down to the pictures again.

"Do you want to talk to your Papa?" Kurapika asked but Karin shook her head.

"No." Karin's voice was bitter and Kurapika can't help but remember her words again.

_I don't want him to come back._

Then, she turned to Krisu.

_In fact, I think it's Krisu who doesn't like Papa the most._

But what is this she's seeing right now? Sure, Krisu looks uncomfortable but not because he doesn't like his father but because he's enjoying his company. Opinions can truly change once you experience things yourself. She can see how broad her son's smile is while Kuroro talked to him about simple things.

Last week, when Kuroro found out about the existence of the twins, she expected him to be angry at her for keeping the two away from him for seven long years. He has every right to be furious. But instead, he had hugged her tightly, thanking her for her hard work in raising them all by herself for the past seven years. When she introduced Krisu to him, her little boy's eyes turned scarlet and Kuroro chuckled. He even carried the boy for the 'first time' and Krisu hugged his neck and called him 'Daddy'. However, when Karin woke up, after Kurapika introduced her father to her, she had been very distant, often avoiding eye contact with the man. Of course, Kuroro did not miss those little gestures of hers.

"Kurapika." Kuroro suddenly called out and the blonde turned her head back to see him standing up. "We're going out for a while." She nodded and smiled upon seeing that Krisu is holding his father's hand. The boy skipped out of the room happily with his Daddy and Kurapika wondered where Kuroro is going to take him.

Another memory entered Kurapika's head. She remembered that two days ago, Kuroro gathered half of his Spiders to hunt down Hisoka again. He needed to extract some information about the video Kurapika told him about. But this time, he's not joining. He even teased her that if he did, some person might give her another fake video. She flushed at the memory.

"Ma." Karin called out.

"Yes?"

"Why is Papa here?" she asked with a disapproving voice. "Didn't he leave us? Why did he come back?"

"Why? You don't want out family to be completed?" Kurapika asked gently and caressed her daughter's cheek.

"But I like Uncle Leorio more." Her daughter almost whined.

"But he's your real father." She explained with a little frown. "Why don't you give him a chance?"

Karin was suddenly silent and to cheer her up, Kurapika pulled out some more pictures and gave it to her. It was effective enough for the little girl started asking questions again.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Waaahh!" Krisu exclaimed as he pressed his face on a glass wall of a pet store. "Mommy never brought me here!" his obsidian eyes roamed the place, eyeing a red parrot inside the store.

"She didn't?" Kuroro asked and smiled as he watched his precious son happily jumping while looking at the animals he had never seen before.

When his little boy silently whined about being cooped up inside his sister's room, Kuroro took the chance to take him out somewhere. Kurapika told him how much Krisu loved animals so he decided to bring him to one of the malls where a big pet shop is. Like he expected, his son's eyes glinted with excitement.

"A parrot!" Krisu squealed and looked at his father. "That's a parrot, right?" he asked and the man chuckled.

"Yeah. You want that?" he asked back and the boy nodded eagerly. Kuroro took his hand once again and they entered the shop. Krisu immediately ran towards the red parrot while his father asked the care taker of the shop to just allow his son to touch or carry any of the animals he sets his eyes on. He also said that he would pay for them once the boy is done.

Krisu was unexpectedly very naughty. He first went towards an aquarium where small green turtles are swimming. He had the nerve to wait until Kuroro is not looking before dipping his hand into the water, trying to catch one of the fast swimming turtles. When Kuroro caught him, he immediately went towards his son, carried him and put him down near the feline section. This time, the boy tried to pat a mother cat, who is feeding her three little kittens with milk. The cat was about to scratch Krisu's hand and fortunately, Kuroro once again saved him. His next almost- accident is when he sneaked into the reptiles section and loudly tapped the glass cage of a huge python, waking the poor snake up. It lunged forward in attempt to bite the little boy but since the cage is glass, the attack did not happen. But it still looked so realistic that Krisu backed away and stumbled down hard on the ground. The last incident is when Krisu yelled at a chameleon to change its colour. This time, Kuroro finally had enough. But he can't deny the fact that it was amusing looking at his son, telling the chameleon to change to colour blue. Somehow, Krisu reminded him of a young Kurapika.

Sighing, Kuroro now understood why Kurapika refused bringing their son in any pet store and just resolved into buying the pets he wanted. He walked towards where Krisu is and told him to choose the animals he wanted. In the end, they bought the red parrot he saw, one small green turtle, and a white kitten. They also bought feeds for the new pets and Kuroro wondered if the house where they had lived for seven years is like a zoo now.

And idea suddenly rammed into his head as he looked at his son. "Krisu, have you been to a zoo?" he asked and the boy looked up to him. Krisu is carefully carrying the large cage of the red parrot they bought and they are walking back towards Kuroro's car to put them on the backseat before going back into the mall to buy Karin something.

"The zoo? I've been there before. But only once." The boy replied cheerfully as they arrived in the parked car.

"Only once?" Kuroro asked again. "Do you want to go again?"

Krisu looked up to him and grinned. "Mommy won't allow it. Last time we went to a zoo, I got into trouble."

"Well, she might allow if you promise her that you'll behave yourself." Kuroro suggested as he finished arranging the animals they bought in the backseat and closed the door shut.

"I always break my promises. But I really want to go again." He pouted as he let his father take his hands once again.

The two walked towards the mall again to buy Karin something. It would be unfair for her, who is the injured one, to not have anything from this little shopping spree. Since Kuroro knew how awkward his daughter is towards him, he opted to ask Krisu instead, to know what to buy for his sister. But it seems like the child is more distracted as he looked at the displays of the windows of the boutiques. The boy even ran inside a shop selling some stuff toy and asked his father to buy him a blue teddy bear and a purple one for Karin. In the end, Kuroro bought him what he wanted despite knowing that he's starting to spoil the child.

"Krisu, Karin doesn't seem to like me." Kuroro pointed out after buying the teddy bears.

"Well, Karin once told me that she doesn't like you." Krisu replied and the man chuckled at his son's straightforwardness.

"How about you?" he asked and the boy looked at him.

"Hmmm... Before I met you, I didn't like you. I thought my Daddy would be some drunkard who beats Mommy all the time." Krisu grinned broadly at him.

_It's the other way around. Your mother is the one who beat me up._ Kuroro thought to himself as he remembered the time when Kurapika captured him in Yorkshin and showered him many punches, making him lose a tooth.

"But I like you now! Waahh!" Krisu bolted inside another boutique store.

Suddenly, Kuroro stopped on his tracks when he spotted a familiar large figure from a distance. The figure was also looking at him, smiling gladly and the person started approaching him. The raven-haired man put up another fake smile as he, too, resumed walking to greet the man.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the great Kuroro Lucifer. Having an early morning shop?" the man asked, and held out his hand. "How are you?"

"Good morning, Mr. Johansen." Kuroro replied and shook the man's hand. "And I'm fine, sir."

"Well, how is my company in your hands after stealing it, hmm?" this time, Johansen's voice was tinted with deep resentment and hatred, directed solely to the raven-haired man in front of him.

"I didn't steal your company. I merely bought it and developed it from bankruptcy." The man explained, still with his fake smile.

"Still as conceited as ever, eh?" Johansen replied sarcastically. "You took advantage of our situation. I know it." He added accusingly.

"Daddy, look!" Krisu suddenly shouted, interrupting the two men from their conversation. He was pointing at a tiger mini figurine with a glint in his eyes. Johansen stared at the boy then back to Kuroro.

"Who is he?" he asked.

"My son." Kuroro answered reluctantly and his two simple words shocked Johansen. But he quickly recovered as he eyed the excited little boy with a sly smirk on his face.

"Your son, eh?" he said in a mischievous voice. "He does resemble you."

"Please excuse us."

Kuroro walked towards Krisu and suddenly carried him, surprising the boy. The child laughed as he tightly clung to his father, who walked far away from where Mr. Johansen is. Krisu finally told him that Karin likes books and they walked towards a well-known bookstore to buy the books that his little girl would surely enjoy. The man also bought a chemistry set since Kurapika once mentioned that Karin is gifted in science and likes to experiment a lot.

After buying everything, the father and son finally drove back to the hospital. He didn't expect for his son to be very troublesome sometimes. It kind of reminded him of how Kurapika would get into trouble all the time but at the same time, he's always there to save her. He's naughtier than any of the kids in the Water Lilly Orphanage which meant that he should always keep an eye on him. Especially now that a business rival of his found out about his son's existence.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When they arrived back in the hospital, Krisu immediately told Karin of his adventures in the mall with their father. He gave her the purple teddy bear that they bought and Karin smiled happily when she cuddled the soft thing. Her brother also gave her the ice cream that Kuroro bought for them and fed his sister himself because her dominant arm is still broken.

Kurapika looked at Kuroro when she heard Krisu talk about the pet shop and the animals they bought.

"Are you trying to breed a zoo?" she asked the man and he merely chuckled. "And you brought him to a pet shop. How was he?"

"He can't get his hands off those animals." Kuroro replied and remembered the chaos Krisu almost caused.

"And you didn't have to buy them a lot of things."

"Well, it's the least I could do." The man then walked towards to where his daughter is resting.

"Krisu told me you like books." He smiled at her and as expected, Karin did not directly look at his eyes. "Here." He held out a paper bag which the little girl took reluctantly from him. "Enjoy them." Her father said and walked back to where Kurapika is and sat beside her.

"T-Thank you."

"And Daddy bought you this too!" Krisu exclaimed as he showed her the chemistry set that Kuroro personally chose for her (with the help of Krisu). Her eyes widened in delight as she took the box from her brother. The two opened it excitedly and then took out the test tubes, flasks, stirring rods, and more tools and apparatuses used in experimenting.

Kurapika took this chance to tell the kids to stop for a while and let Karin rest. In the end, the two obeyed, but not without two identical grand pouts. Krisu walked back to where Kuroro is and sat beside him, arms crossed. His father chuckled and ruffled his son's dark hair.

"Mommy! Daddy said he'll take us to the zoo!" the boy suddenly exclaimed and Kurapika spun on her heels to look at Kuroro.

"You did?" she asked and Kuroro nodded. Then, the blonde turned to Krisu. "Last we time went to the zoo, you almost fed your hand to the elephant."

"Aww! Mom!" Krisu whined. "Please? I'll behave! Please, please, please?"

"Well, you can't say 'no' to that." Kuroro chuckled.

"Now you're taking his side?" Kurapika asked with a frown.

"I want to go to the zoo too, Ma." Karin piped in.

In the end, Kurapika finally relented but she extracted two promises from her twins that they will behave accordingly to prevent any more unwanted accidents. She also declared that Kuroro will take responsibility if anything will happen to them.

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_Two days later..._

After much deliberation, Kurapika finally decided to go back to the Gushiken Mansion, back to the place she left, to the place where she conceived her twins. They only packed the things they needed from their tiny house and that included Krisus's pets and Karin's books. However, Nanny Rosa insisted that she won't go with them. Kurapika tried to convince her but the old woman said that she wants to go back to the place where she lived as a little girl. So, Kurapika respected her wishes and helped her by providing everything she needed for her trip. The nanny was quite happy that their family was once again reunited and the blonde can't thank her enough for always being here when the twins needed her.

Krisu and Karin both cried when they found out that their nanny won't be going with them. They made paper cards, wrote their messages on those cards, and then gave it to Nanny Rosa. The old woman was truly thankful for knowing the twins and Kurapika for she learned many things in life as she stayed with them.

After the nanny left, it's time for them to go too. Kuroro sent a car that will fetch them and the driver was no other than Sato, her head butler. He smiled happily upon seeing his long-lost master and as always, he bowed down to show how much he respected her. Karin and Krisu were delighted to know that they had another uncle and Kurapika told them there's still a lot more when they get to the place where they're going to live.

They arrived in the Gushiken Mansion after a long journey. Kurapika was tired but that was not the case for the twins. The maids and the other butlers of the house all lined up to greet her and she smiled to herself, glad to be back after seven years. She was also glad that Kuroro did not throw a party to celebrate her return like what her Uncle Kairo would do. He knew she wouldn't like it.

"Are we really going to live her, Ma?" Karin asked as she clutched her mother's hand tightly and walked with her. Krisu is already busy exploring the large house and he even ran back to take his sister with him. The two ran upstairs to look at each room and Kurapika could only smile as she watched how excited they are.

"I see they're having fun." A familiar voice said behind her and Kurapika didn't have to turn around to see who it was.

"Daddy!" Krisu suddenly called out, waved his hand and Kuroro smiled in return. Karin stood behind him, unmoving, until her brother finished. Then, they ran downstairs to look at the kitchen.

"Karin is still not used to me." Kuroro chuckled but Kurapika can feel the slight disappointment in his voice. She can't help but feel guilty. It was her actions seven years ago that cause Karin to act that way towards her own father.

"Sorry." Kurapika suddenly whispered and Kuroro looked at her. "I'm really sorry."

He smiled and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. "It's all in the past now. Do me a favour and just focus on how our lives will be from now on. I'm just glad that you really didn't mean what you said to me back in Puerto Andale."

"That... I got tired you of?"

Kuroro scoffed. "Not that. I know you're lying. You'll never get tired of me."

"How conceited." She replied and also wound her arm around his waist.

He looked at her. "It's when you said that I mean nothing to you."

For a moment, the blonde was silent. Well, she also lied at that time. The truth is, Kuroro is her everything and so are their twins.

Hearing him say things like that, a smile made its way to her lips. He's the same Kuroro she knew seven years ago. He's always there to comfort her and make everything okay. He's always there to save her when she's in trouble. Kurapika realized how stupid her seventeen-year old self was for doubting him and his promises to her.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Daddy...?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can we go to your office today?"

Kuroro looked up from the laptop and found his son fingering the figurines displayed in his mahogany shelf. His daughter on the other hand, is quietly sitting on one of the couches, comfortably reading one of the books he bought her many days ago. Kurapika was out, called by her boss, leaving him to attend to his kids while doing his reports at the same time. Krisu's sudden request piped his curiosity as he asked 'why?'.

"Because Mommy brought us to her office once. We want to see yours too, right Karin?" he turned to his sister, who only nodded curtly, her eyes still glued on her book. Her gesture was practically saying 'do not disturb me when I'm reading' and she kind of reminded Kuroro of himself when he's reading a very good book.

"Dress yourselves up. We're leaving in fifteen minutes." Kuroro finally ordered and stood up, closing his laptop in the process. Krisu squealed in delight and he pulled his sister along with him while she protested silently.

After the time limit, Kuroro drove towards the Bethel Main Tower where his office is located at the very top, and his twins can't contain the excitement as they rode the elevator. Upon finally arriving, they immediately looked around the luxurious area, with many cubicles for the other employees. The people there greeted their boss and some of them even asked who the two children he brought along with him are. But it seems like they got their answer when Krisu called him out again.

"Daddy, which one's your office?" he asked and the other employees stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Kuroro ignored their looks and responded at his son by pointing at certain double doors with a smile. Krisu quickly grabbed his sister on her hand without a cast and they both bolted inside the room. Their father followed suit and stopped for a while to order Yumiko to bring some refreshments inside. His assistant nodded and he continued walking. Inside, he saw his son playing with his swivel chair, turning and tossing around, while his daughter was trying to reach a certain book from his shelf.

"Need a hand?" he asked Karin and reached the book for her. The girl thanked him silently and then sat down on another couch to begin reading.

Kuroro turned his attention to Krisu, who is now standing near the small liquor table, holding a bottle of red wine to his nose, and smelling the strong alcohol scent.

"Krisu, put that back." He ordered and his son complied.

Kuroro took a seat on his swivel chair and turned his laptop on to look at his e-mail. Scrolling down, he found one mail from Shalnark and frowned at the subject title of the said mail. TOP 15 ACTIVITTIES THAT WILL GET YOU CLOSE TO YOUR KIDS. He furrowed his eyebrows but opened the mail anyway. The first part contains Shalnark's personal message for him which says:

_Danchou,_

_Knowing you, you're going to have a bit of difficulty in handling children. I know you have some experiences because of your frequent visits in the Water Lilly Orphanage but we're talking about _**your**_ kids here. So, I took the liberty of giving you the list of suitable activities for you to do with them._

_-Shal_

The second part of his mail contains the said activities that will help establish the bond he wanted with his kids.

• _Watching movies_

• _Shopping_

• _Camping_

• _Going to the Zoo or Amusement Park_

• _Baking_

• _Going to the beach or pool_

• _Eating outside_

• _Reading to them_

• _Kite flying_

• _Picnic_

• _Island hopping_

• _Hiking_

• _Studying with them_

• _Taking a walk with them_

• _Frisbee_

Kuroro suddenly felt someone snuggling to him and he found Krisu, struggling to climb his lap. With a smile, he carried his son and put him where he wanted to be. Now that he had thought about it, Kuroro realized how small his physical contact with Karin is. Maybe he could make up for it during the weekend, when he will take the twins to the zoo after a long time.

"Do you like kites, Krisu?" he asked and his son nodded. Kuroro suddenly felt thankful at Shalnark for giving him this list. True, he first didn't know what to do with his kids. He doesn't know what they like and what they don't like so he had to ask someone, particularly Kurapika, what they are.

Suddenly, they heard a couple of shouts outside the office, indicating that there is trouble coming. The double doors swung open, revealing a fuming Mr. Johansen, who is glaring angrily at Kuroro. Yumiko was already calling the security guards to drag the trespasser away before he does anything reckless to their boss. However, Kuroro was not a bit afraid but the twins are rather surprised with the scene.

Mr. Johansen strode towards Kuroro swiftly, giving a glare at Karin, who only glared back in return. Krisu was lightly shaking as he watched the old man stop in front of Kuroro's table.

"You bastard!" he shouted, making Krisu flinch. "You don't have the right to mock my family, Lucifer!"

"I believe I have no idea of what you're talking about. I don't remember ridiculing anyone." Kuroro replied sternly and whispered to his son to go and sit with his sister. The boy nodded and quickly got off his father to go to Karin, who is also watching the scene in front of her with bewildered eyes.

"Now you're acting innocent, bastard!"

"Yumiko." Kuroro called out, ignoring Mr. Johansen. "Take the kids out for a while."

Yumiko entered the room and ushered the twins out. Krisu gave his father one last glance before the doors completely closed behind him. Outside, he can barely hear what is going on with his Daddy and the fat person they saw back in the mall.

"Yumiko-neesan." Krisu called out, turning to Kuroro's secretary for answers. "Who is that fat man?" he asked.

"He's loud." Karin simply said and also looked at Yumiko, waiting for her response.

"Well, he's your father's..." Yumiko didn't know what to say but she finally settled with the word, "...friend."

"They don't look like friends." Karin muttered.

"Well, friends have misunderstandings sometimes." The assistant said.

"Jao and I never had any misunderstandings! We always get along well." Krisu reasoned.

"They say 'choose your friends because they reflect who you are'" his sister added. "Papa is not fat and loud like that old man. They're not friends." She declared coldly that it surprised Yumiko as she was almost reminded by her boss by just looking at the girl.

The double doors opened again and Mr. Johansen strode out. He gave the twins a disgusting look and the security guards arrived, dragging the man out. Krisu immediately ran inside the office and Karin followed her brother. Inside, their father is still sitting in his swivel chair, elbows resting on the table with hands clasped, and a serious expression painted on his face.

This is the first time the twins had seen him frown deeply, lost in his thoughts. Slowly, Krisu, and even Karin, approached their father. Karin gently tapped his arm and Kuroro turned his head towards her. With a smile, he carefully hoisted the little Kurapika up and she felt so light. He put her on his lap while Krisu jumped up to settle himself on the table.

"Daddy, what happened? Why do you look sad?" his little boy asked and Kuroro smiled at him.

"I do?" he asked and Krisu nodded. "It's nothing."

Karin also said nothing and just sat there, strangely enjoying how her father touched her. On the other hand, Kuroro had been thinking of Mr. Johansen's last words before storming out of his office.

_I'll make your twins pay for your insults to my family and my company!_

"Yumiko." Kuroro suddenly called out and his assistant entered the room. "Call back the Elite Seven."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**Author's note:** _Well, I've always wanted to write a bonding scene between Kuroro and his kids, to see how he handles them! I also want to focus on how Kuroro will deepen his relationship with his twins. There you go, folks! Chapter 5! Read and Review! Thank you for all your encouraging reviews! Do you have a facebook account? Let's be friends! PM me! Tee hee!_

**Next: **_What did Kuroro exactly do to Mr. Johansen's family to have made him so angry that he'll involve the innocent twins in their problem? Well, the Elite Seven are back again to resume their job of protecting Kurapika and the children._


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 6

A Proposal

"I'm thinking of enrolling the twins in B.I.T." Kurapika stated one fine afternoon to Kuroro, who is sitting right beside her, drinking hot coffee.

"Seeing how talented those two are, I couldn't agree with you more." Kuroro replied as he finished his cup.

It is weekend, the day they promised to take the twins to the zoo. The only thing that's left is for their kids to come downstairs from their rooms. Kurapika was practically annoyed at the thought that the twins used their father to get her to say yes completely. The first time she took the kids to the zoo, Krisu was so excited to see different kinds of animals that even though there was a sign in every cage to not feed the animals, he stubbornly tried to hand a small piece bread towards the elephant. But instead of the bread, the elephant's trunk took his tiny hand by mistake. Fortunately, the zoo keepers and the elephant's trainer were there to rescue him. Form that day on, Kurapika never brought her twins to the zoo again.

But she can't believe she agreed today!

Small footsteps were heard from upstairs and the couple turned their heads, only to see Krisu running down excitedly, wearing a blue polo shirt underneath his blue jacket and dark blue pants. He's also wearing a pair of gloves with blue and white stripes. The weather is kind of cold since Christmas is approaching fast. Another thing that Kuroro found out about his son is that he loves the colour blue so much that his room is all filled with that colour. He ran towards his father and the man caught him, letting him sit in his lap. That's always Krisu's favourite seat every time he's together with Kuroro.

"Where's your sister?" Kurapika asked.

"She's still dressing up." Krisu replied and his mother stood up to go and help her daughter, leaving Kuroro and his son alone.

On the coffee table, Krisu saw a black laptop open and he reached out for it. Seeing his son's actions, Kuroro opted to sit down on the carpeted floor with Krisu sitting between his legs. The man pulled the laptop closer and the little boy opened some applications and played the games already installed in it. The two killed some time as they waited for Kurapika and Karin to come downstairs.

"Did you feed your pets?" Kuroro asked while watching his son playing a memory game.

"Yeah. Mr. Blue likes biscuits a lot." Krisu replied.

"Mr. Blue?"

"My parrot."

"Ah." Kuroro smiled a little upon remembering that the colour of the parrot they bought is actually red.

Suddenly Kuroro opted to ask the boy something about another topic. "Have you heard of nen?"

"Nen?" This time, Krisu tore his gaze away from the laptop and looked at his Daddy. "Is that some kind of animal?" he asked.

Kuroro chuckled and shook his head. "No. It's like..." he paused, thinking of a clear word to make a six-year old child understand the complexity of such topic. "... an aura that gives you superhuman abilities."

"Oh! Like flying?" his son exclaimed excitedly, totally forgetting the memory game. "Do you have nen, Daddy? Can you show me?" the boy assumed and was not disappointed when his father nodded.

To fulfil his request, Kuroro summoned his Skill Book and Krisu's eyes widened in pure excitement and thrill. The boy thought that 'superpowers' can only be seen in television. Seeing his reaction, Kuroro finally confirmed that Kurapika did not teach their kids what nen is or even its basic principles. He can't blame her though. The twins are still too young to understand nen and its different branches or its significance in everyday human activities. However, Kuroro believed that the twins have acquired natural talents and can easily learn nen if they devote themselves to it.

He wanted to teach them nen so they could at least not be ignorant in the world they live in, especially now that they're exposed in his side of his world. Kuroro, being a top businessman and an S-rank criminal, surely has many enemies both in the business world and the world of nen. And not everyone in those two worlds is considerate enough not to involve the people important to him in whatever problems they have.

"What can you do, Daddy?" Krisu asked and Kuroro chuckled. The man closed the Skill Book, making his son's smile disappear.

"I'll show you some other time." He assured him but the boy continued pouting grandly.

Finally, Kurapika and Karin came downstairs, ready to make this trip. They rode on Kuroro's car towards the largest zoo in Kaede Gushiken district. Upon arriving, Kurapika was surprised with the way Krisu contained his excitement. The zoo they visited before is just half as large as the one they're entering right now. Kuroro was holding Krisu's hand tightly to make sure the boy doesn't suddenly bolt out towards the different cages.

The couple separated, exchanging the kids they're handling. Kuroro is now walking around with Karin, who's not really talking or squealing like Krisu does. Every now and then, they would stop and watch a certain animal and Kuroro would try to ask her questions, engaging her in a light conversation. Karin's right arm is still in a cast and her father is very careful in making sure nothing bumps into her casted arm.

"Papa." Karin suddenly called out and Kuroro stopped walking to turn to his daughter. "I'm tired."

Nodding, Kuroro took her to a nearby wooden bench where they sat down. Not far away from them are people taking pictures of a hippopotamus swimming relaxingly in the water. Karin is looking at an ice cream stand nearby and she seemed shy to ask her Papa to buy her the cold candy. Nonetheless, Kuroro had seen her eyes and stood up.

"Do you want to eat ice cream?" he asked her gently and Karin nodded. "Just stay here." Kuroro ordered and walked towards the ice cream stand. He wondered vaguely why his daughter loves eating ice cream even though it the weather in Gushiken district is getting colder.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Karin sat down silently as she watched the back of her father, sauntering towards the ice cream stand. Ice cream is her favourite because she liked the way the cold melted in her tongue. The little girl had seen the similarities between her and her Papa and she didn't know whether she should be happy or disappointed.

They both liked books and they have their own book collection, mostly Ayumi Suzuki's works. They like science and they know how to appreciate old artefacts. In fact, she wanted to request her Papa to bring her in a museum the next time they go out. However, she doesn't know how to exactly interact with a person whom she doesn't really know because of his absence.

While waiting for Kuroro to come back, Karin noticed a tall guy looking at her for a while now. The girl has this habit of returning someone's stare and that's what she exactly did. She's not really afraid of other people. The tall man smiled and he approached her slowly. Karin wanted to yell at him to stay where he is but she didn't manage to do so when the guy reached her and showed her something.

"Hey, little girl. Would you like a candy?" the stranger asked, holding out a handful of candies.

"I don't eat sweets." Karin replied and looked away, but the guy remained persistent.

"How about story books? Don't you like them?"

"No. They're boring." The little girl looked at him. "Mama told me not to talk to stupid strangers."

The guy visibly flinched at the thought of being called 'stupid' by a little girl. But he did not let his irritation get the better of him and continued talking to Karin. "Well, your mama sent me to get you. She's right there." He pointed at the area where people are looking at the lion's cage. "Come with me."

"No." Karin remained stubborn. "Go away."

"That's it." The guy hissed and suddenly covered the girl's mouth and nose with his large right hand. Karin's eyes widened and she struggled to get out of his grasp, but her two little hands were also caught by the stranger's free hand and he pinned them against her back. Her screams were muffled and her attempts to escape are futile. The sun is starting to go down and the man looked around to make sure no one is watching them, then, he started to move back to an area where there are a little people around.

The tall guy carried her away and tears begun to stung her eyes, which suddenly turned scarlet. But suddenly, she felt her kidnapper's grip loosen and another person grabbed her away from him. The next thing Karin knew is that she's being carried by her Papa and the guy was now lying on the ground, his body weight supported by his elbows and a punch mark on his cheek. Kuroro looked at the man venomously and Karin hugged her father, sobbing on his shoulder. She refused to look back at the scene, afraid of what she might see.

Kuroro walked towards the guy and stomped on his chest, making the stranger gasp in pain. The people who were enjoying animal watching were suddenly distracted by the commotion and turned towards the incident instead.

"Who are you? Who sent you?" the raven-haired man asked indignantly. Seeing his daughter almost getting kidnapped like that almost wanted him to kill the guy instantly. But he held himself back and resorted to punching the guy to let Karin go.

The man underneath him groaned in pain again when Kuroro increased the pressure on his chest. Karin had her head buried on the crook of her father's neck. Some of the onlookers took the liberty of calling the security guards and when the guards arrived, Kuroro willingly gave the man for them to handle.

His daughter is still crying and Kuroro slightly panicked, not knowing what to do. So, he resorted into stroking her back gently until her sobs died down. Kuroro fished out his mobile phone with his free hand and called Kurapika. When the call was answered, he told her about what happened and as expected, she got angry and demanded that they meet back at Kuroro's car so that they could go back home right away.

They rode in silence except for Krisu, who tried to cheer up his sister. Kuroro was gripping the steering wheel tightly, obviously still angry at himself for letting his guard down.

When they arrived, the first thing that Kuroro did is to call Yumiko to inquire about his orders about calling back the Elite Seven. His assistant replied and told him that they'll be arriving tomorrow early morning. After the call, they ate dinner and Kurapika took the kids to their rooms, staying a little longer by Karin's side to make sure she's okay. After a while, the little girl fell asleep, tired of walking around the zoo for hours and crying too much.

The doors clicked open and Kuroro stepped inside, taking a tentative glance to Kurapika then to Karin.

The blonde smiled at him. "She's okay." And Kuroro nodded. Kurapika stood up to approach him. "Did you go and see Krisu too?" She asked.

"Still as energetic as ever." Kuroro whispered and the two went out of the room to go to theirs.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kurapika can see Kuroro's dilemma in his face because she knew he's kind of blaming himself for what happened. But the blonde asked him to erase the thought from his mind since nobody wanted the incident in the first place. She was glad that Kuroro was really trying his best in getting to know the twins. He's successful in Krisu but is still struggling when it comes to Karin.

They arrived back in the room and Kuroro immediately removed his coat to take a shower and after that, he sat down on the bed. Kurapika also took a refreshing half-bath then followed him and lied down on the bed, exhausted at keeping a vigilant eye over Krisu, who had been running around the zoo, looking at the animals. Kuroro looked at her, suddenly twined his fingers with hers, and fell down on the soft cushions of the bed with a tired sigh.

"It's not your fault, Kuroro." Kurapika whispered and she heard him chuckle.

"Mhhmm..." Then man hummed and turned to his side. "Tell me something, Kurapika. I've been curious about this." He paused and the blonde also turned to her side to face him. "Did you kill Fuji seven years ago?" he asked and she stiffened.

A few seconds later, she nodded. "I did it for our first child." She whispered.

"Don't feel guilty. He deserves it."

"I know. But..."

Kuroro leaned forward to give her a light kiss on her forehead. "Don't you think there's something missing?" he asked, changing the topic she hates, and then gave her cheek another kiss.

"Missing?" the blonde asked back and shivered when he felt him ran his fingers through her blonde hair.

"That's right." Then, the man gave her a long, sweet kiss on the lips before getting up and opening the first drawer of the bedside table. He took out a small black box and turned to Kurapika, who was already up in a sitting position, wearing a confused look.

Tightly gripping the box in his palm, Kuroro turned to face the blonde again. He smiled gently at her then leaned forward again to brush his lips against hers once more. Kurapika was deeply bewildered with his actions until she saw him holding out the small black box in front of her when their lips parted. The man grinned mischievously and she looked at the item in front of her.

"I'm not very good at this. Just take it." Kuroro said and Kurapika did what she was told.

Slowly, she opened the box and it revealed a thin silver ring with a sparkling small diamond resting on it. The blonde almost gasped in surprise as she stared at the accessory and then looked at Kuroro. Her eyes are almost turning scarlet as the emotions swirled inside her chest.

"Well, I suppose you know what that means." Kuroro stated and chuckled.

"How unromantic." Kurapika scoffed. "The man should always ask the _question_ after showing the ring."

"I told you, I'm not good at these kinds of things." He countered but stopped smiling when Kurapika looked at him disapprovingly. With a sigh, he gave up. "Fine." The man declared and took the opened box from her.

Kuroro may have not noticed it but he's actually _flushing_! Kurapika tried to suppress a chuckle upon seeing how adorable he is. Seven years did not really change his appearance, maybe because he was born with a baby face. He's still the same 26-year old man she met back then. She was somehow relieved that his personality also did not really change.

The man took a deep breath before taking the ring from the box, took her slender left hand, and looked at her. "Kurapika Kuruta..." He started and the blonde held her breath. "... will you marry me?"

Those four words gave Kurapika difficulty in breathing. Her heart pounded rapidly inside her chest and she felt lots of butterflies in her stomach, flying around rapidly. It took her a while before finally parting her lips to say her answer.

"No." She said and Kuroro furrowed his eyebrows. "No. I just don't want to marry you. I want to be with you for the rest if my life." The blonde added, making Kuroro breathe out in relief. Kurapika can't believe that she said those words but they're all the truth. Seven years of not being with him had proven how much she had wanted to touch him and be by his side again.

"So, is that a 'yes'?" Kuroro asked.

"You can say that." She replied.

"Good. For a moment there, I thought you're going to reject me." He chuckled and slipped the silver diamond ring into her finger. He looked up and leaned to whisper in her ear. "I love you."

She shuddered when his warm breath contacted her sensitive skin and Kuroro pulled back to kiss her again. He just can't get enough of her, really. He had missed her so much that it's so hard for him to restrain himself. Kuroro pushed her further down until she's lying on her back, with him hovering above her. He broke the kiss and trailed feather light kisses down her neck.

Kuroro had unbuttoned the first two buttons of the usual shirt she wears and was about to continue further when the doors suddenly swung open.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Krisu shouted excitedly.

Kurapika immediately pushed Kuroro away from her with considerable force that the man almost fell down from the bed. The two were panting and Kurapika immediately sat up, buttoning the first two buttons that the Spider head had undone. Kuroro on the other hand, chuckled at his son's wrong timing. Behind Krisu, Karin was also there, watching them silently.

"Yes, Krisu?" Kurapika asked, her breath finally even and steady. The twins are carrying their teddy bears given by Kuroro.

"Can we sleep with you?" her son asked and she smiled.

"Of course. Come here." Their mother patted the large bed and the twins skipped towards them, climbing on it eagerly.

Krisu had snuggled right beside his mother while Karin shyly took her place beside her Papa. They chatted for a while until Karin fell asleep, followed by Krisu. Then the couple also closed their eyes, drifting to dreamland with their children.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Krisu and Karin woke up early and settled themselves in the living room, with Karin reading her book and with Krisu playing with his puppy. They were happily enjoying their time when seven strange people wearing suits walked inside the mansion, looking around for someone. Karin instantly tensed up as she stood and looked at the new comers. She recognized one of them as the driver who fetched them back from their old house.

"Ah. Karin-chan, Krisu-chan." A brown haired man in the middle of the group waved at them.

"Sato-oniisan!" Krisu greeted and approached the man, carrying with him his white puppy. "This is Max!" the boy introduced. The puppy wiggled its tail happily while looking up to Sato. The butler smiled at the child and patted the pet.

"Sato, who are they?" one of them asked and Sato chuckled.

"Kuroro-sama and Kurapika-sama's kids."

All of them, save for Aki and Sato, all stared wide-eyed at the twins. Krisu grinned at them while Karin was walking upstairs, heading towards Kuroro's private study room.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"The private agents told me that he's one of Mr. Johansen's men."

Kurapika looked at him and frowned. "And who is this Mr. Johansen?" she asked, crossing her arms. They are currently discussing about the almost kidnapping incident that happened in the zoo. Kuroro is very determined to know who tried to kidnap his daughter and recently, they found the driver of the car who hit Karin.

Karin gets into a lot of accidents recently.

"He was once the owner of Johansen Pharmaceuticals Company." Kuroro explained.

"And what did you do to make him angry?"

The man explained that Mr. Johansen's company went bankrupt many years ago. Kuroro also established his own pharmaceutical company and one of Mr. Johansen's brothers asked him to buy their company. Kuroro agreed and after one year, he managed to repair the broken business successfully. But then, Mr Johansen started accusing him of manipulating his brother and stealing the corporation from their family. And just recently, Kuroro secretly gave some money to the Johansen family to help them since they're having a hard time. Mr. Johansen continuously refused some of his help that's why Kuroro would assist them in secret.

But it seems like Mr. Johansen found out about what he did and barged into his office to yell at him, feeling insulted at his actions. Kuroro could still remember that talk they had many days ago.

"_Bastard! Just because you have money doesn't mean we need it!" The old man yelled angrily at him. "That was the last straw, Lucifer!" _

"_I was helping your family, Mr. Johansen." Kuroro reasoned calmly, tired at his frequent visits that would always come down to more yelling and arguing._

"_Just wait and see." Mr. Johansen was fuming. "I'll make your twins pay for your insults to my family and company!" then, he stormed out angrily._

"So, he's making his move." Kurapika's hand curled into a fist and she gritted her teeth angrily. "If I see that man, I'm going to make him pay for what he did."

"We still don't have enough evidence, Kurapika. The kidnapper's testimony is not enough. We need something more concrete. "

"I know."

Suddenly, they heard a couple of soft knocks from outside. Kuroro told the person outside to come in and it was revealed to be their little girl. Karin looked at Kuroro then to Kurapika.

"There are people downstairs." She said. "Mr. Driver was there." The girl added.

With a smile, the couple stood up and walked out of the room. Karin followed her mother and when they reached downstairs, they saw Krisu sitting on the floor, surrounded by the Elite Seven, who are asking him questions. It seems like Krisu is enjoying their company until his eyes landed on Kurapika and Kuroro.

He waved at them. "Mommy, Daddy! More Uncles and Aunties!" the boy yelled excitedly.

The Elite Seven immediately stood up and bowed upon seeing her presence. In the end, two of them can't help but cry as they ran towards Kurapika and hugged her. They were no other than the fraternal twins, Yuri and Eri. They're all grown up now and Kurapika can't believe how much their physical appearance changed.

Krisu frowned as he, too, ran towards his mother and attempted to join the hugging session. However, Kuroro caught him and carried him instead, whispering to him to let them be for a while.

"Kurapika-sama!" the twins cried and Kurapika laughed.

"I missed you too, Eri, Yuri." Then she turned to the rest. "Hey, it's been a while, huh?"

They all smiled at her, their eyes almost watering. It has been seven years since they last saw their master and they're so glad to have found her again. Eri and Yuri had stopped hugging her and Kurapika introduced to them her own fraternal twins. Krisu immediately took a liking on Eri while Yuri took her time getting to know Karin. Kuroro then assigned the two to become his twins' personal guards and Kurapika agreed, knowing that the Yuri and Eri will do a very good job protecting her kids.

They spent their morning happily, chatting and sharing their thoughts with each other. Kurapika and Kuroro's twins happily talked with their fellow twins.

As they enjoyed their time, far away from them, in a small mansion; another person hatches another evil plan.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note: ** _I'm kind of really inspired right now so I decided to update another chapter. I'm aiming to finish all my fics before summer ends because I'll be very busy when school starts. I don't want to leave unfinished fics that will leave the readers hanging. Hehehe. About Heartfelt, I'll be updating it very soon so no worries! Please Read and Review. There are some grammatical errors because I'm too lazy to edit them... sorry. Hehe_

**Next:** _A troublemaker comes back again. Karin is still awkward with Kuroro and the man decides to do some of the activities suggested by Shalnark. What could it be? The Spiders also visits the Gushiken Mansion to see their Danchou's kids. A fun time for Krisu and Karin!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__ I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 7

Cupcakes

"Gah! I can't take it anymore!" Krisu exclaimed annoyingly as he opened his eyes and stood up.

"You'll never learn it at this rate." Karin replied seriously as she, too, opened her eyes to look at her brother while sitting on the carpeted floor in Indian-style.

"But it's too hard!" the boy complained and looked around. "Maybe I should just play with Max."

"Oi! Papa said we have to meditate!" Karin grabbed her brother's hand before he could bolt out of their father's private study room.

The two are currently meditating, like what their father had ordered them to do. After Kuroro had shown Krisu his nen ability, the boy had been restlessly urging him to teach him nen, all the while saying, _'If Daddy can do it, then maybe I can too!'_. The little boy even dragged along his sister, who's peacefully reading her books (as usual). Because of Krisu's persistence, Kuroro finally gave in and asked them to start by meditating first, concentrating on opening their aura nodes so that their aura could flow out of their body.

However, it's not that easy for Krisu. Being an energetic and playful boy, he could barely stay in one place, let alone concentrate on meditation. He is easily distracted unlike Karin, who finds meditating an easy thing to do.

"Ne, how can you easily do it, Karin?" Krisu asked and sat on the ground again, pouting sadly.

"I've done it before." His sister simply replied and continued her meditation.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I can use nen."

Krisu looked at her silently, clearly shocked by her sudden revelation. But then, he broke into a broad grin. Feeling her brother's peculiar look at her, Karin opened her eyes, only to find him crawling closer towards her. She furrowed her eyebrows in bewilderment at her brother's actions.

"Karin, you're joking, right?" he asked, still beaming at her.

"Why would I joke?" she replied with another question.

"Ehhh!" Krisu exclaimed. "You're serious?"

Karin stood up and faced her brother. Krisu did the same and looked directly at her.

"I'll show you." The blonde said and took a deep breath, closing her eyes to focus herself. Her brother nodded and she held out her palm in front of him. A few seconds later, a white steam-like substance covered her entire body. Though Krisu cannot see it due to the fact that the aura nodes in his eyes are not open, he can feel the sudden change in pressure around his sister's body.

The said pressure even increased as Karin released more of her life energy. Krisu began sweating and almost backed away, until his sister's body relaxed and the pressure was gone. The boy breathed out again and he didn't even realize that he'd holding his breath. Karin opened her blue eyes and looked at her brother's obsidian ones.

"Did you feel it?" she asked and Krisu could only nod dumbly. Then, she touched his hands and the boy felt a warm feeling creeping to his body.

"I... It didn't feel like this when Daddy showed me his nen." Krisu said, recalling the memory in his head. "How did you learn it?" he asked.

Suddenly, the double doors clicked open and Kuroro stepped inside with his laptop. He looked at the two children standing. Karin and Krisu immediately sat down again and went back to meditating. Kuroro stepped inside completely and also sat down on his table that is facing the two.

"Who among you manage to open their aura nodes?" he asked, slightly surprised as he put down his laptop on the table. He was downstairs, talking with Kurapika about teaching their kids nen, when they felt a little force from upstairs. Kuroro took the liberty on checking on the twins to see if one of them did open their aura nodes on their first day of training.

"It was Karin!" Krisu answered cheerfully and Kuroro looked at his daughter.

"Was it you, Karin?" he asked and she nodded shyly. "Can you show me again?"

Karin nodded again and stood up. Krisu ran towards his father and sat on his lap to watch his sister perform nen again. Kuroro had used Gyou to see if she did open her aura nodes. The girl released her life force and her father's eyes widened a little. She gently enveloped her aura around her body to keep it from leaking away completely.

"_Ten."_ Kuroro whispered and continued watching her.

This time, Karin expanded her aura greatly while keeping it flowing around her body.

"_Ren." _The man whispered again.

Then, the aura surrounding her disappeared, indicating that the girl closed her aura nodes.

"_Zetsu"_

Karin suddenly sat down on the floor, panting slightly. She must still find it hard to control her aura completely. Krisu immediately went towards her, followed by Kuroro. Her father helped her stand up again as he smiled at her, then patted her blonde head.

"Good job." He said. "But how did you learn it on your first day?"

"Yeah! How did you do it, Karin?" Krisu added curiously.

"I... I learned it already a long time ago." Karin replied, her voice low.

"Who taught you?" Kuroro asked again.

"Mama."

"Mommy? That's unfair!" Krisu exclaimed and ran downstairs to interrogate his mother, leaving Kuroro and Karin alone.

"Wait, Krisu!" Karin shouted but the boy did not hear for he's too fast.

"Your mother did?"

Turning her attention back to her father, the blonde spoke again. "But not directly." The girl replied, not looking at his eyes. "Every early morning, when she's at home, she would go to the garden and I would watch her meditate and sometimes do something else."

"What something else?" her father inquired curiously.

"I don't know but I sometimes see her holding chains on her right hand. Then I feel like I'm being pushed back by some force." Karin replied, recalling how her mother's chains would fly in the air. "So, I tried to do what she does every day until I learned nen."

"What does she do every day?"

"Meditating and practicing." She responded.

"So, you learned nen by watching and imitating your mother." Kuroro deduced and smiled at her. "You're talented indeed. Let's go tell your Mama."

Downstairs, Krisu was sitting beside Kurapika, pouting grandly. She must have scolded him greatly. Kurapika turned to see the two walking down and she stood up.

"Karin." The blonde called out. "Did I really teach you nen?" she asked.

Kuroro chuckled and explained everything to her and his son. As expected, Kurapika was impressed by her daughter's feat while Krisu finally calmed down and walked towards his sister, asking her to teach him. Karin, the independent and responsible sister, gave in to his urgings and asked permission from their parents if they could get out and go to the garden.

"But before that, don't you want to know what your aura type is?" Kuroro asked and Karin looked at him.

"Aura type?" the girl asked.

Kurapika smiled upon hearing it and called some maids to prepare the necessary things needed for a water divination. A few minutes later, the maids brought back a wine glass filled with tap water, with a green leaf floating on it. Krisu and Karin looked at the weird thing in front of them.

"Now, place your hands around the glass and perform Ren." Kuroro instructed, earning a confused look from her.

"R-Ren?" the girl asked and he realized that he didn't teach her the names of the basic techniques of nen that she showed him. This time, it was Kurapika who explained and described what Ten, Ren, and Zetsu is. Karin immediately understood and then placed her hands around the glass like what her Papa said.

"Like this?" she asked and Kuroro nodded. Then, she closed her eyes and concentrated on opening her aura nodes again, letting her aura flow out. Kurapika looked at her amazingly and used Gyou to see if she really can do nen like what Kuroro had told her. Karin released a large amount of aura and a few seconds later, the leaf on top of the water suddenly wilted.

"Eh? What happened?" Krisu asked.

Kuroro ordered Karin to stop and when the girl's eyes opened, they saw how shocked she is upon landing her eyes on the state of her leaf.

"Is... is this a bad thing?" she asked and Kuroro chuckled.

"No. You're in Specialization type." He informed.

"Specialization?"

Both Kuroro and Kurapika decided that it's best to educate the twins about nen now. So, in the next two hours, they spent it by teaching them the meaning of nen, its principles, the basic techniques, and their uses. They also taught them the dangers and the thing about vows and limitations. Kuroro even had the nerve to tell them what happened to him when he was in Yorkshin, when his nen was sealed by Kurapika. Fortunately, the blonde was able to silence him (by secretly elbowing him at his side) before he could finish his 'story'. The twins practically whined for him to finish it, thinking that their parents' _love story_ began that fateful day. However, they were scared when their mother scolded them and Kuroro added that he'd rather not make her angry.

"Daddy's scared of Mommy too." Krisu whispered to his sister and the two giggled.

"I heard that." Kuroro said, making the twins tense up. He and Kurapika had finished their light argument about teaching them the more advanced techniques.

"Ah... ehh..." the boy nervously stuttered and finally looked at Karin. "Ne, Karin. Didn't you say you'll teach me? Come on!" he grabbed her hand and pulled her away, clearly trying to make his escape.

"But the lessons haven't ended yet." His sister complained but was dragged away nonetheless. Kuroro chuckled amusingly.

"You didn't have to scare him like that." Kurapika said disapprovingly. "What he said is true anyway." Then she broke into a sly smirk, which Kuroro took as a challenge.

"Oh really?" he asked as he leaned forward towards her. Kurapika stayed still and faced him.

"It is true." She insisted more and Kuroro smirked at her.

"Let's see then." He leaned further until his lips brushed lightly against hers.

Kurapika shuddered when he kissed her again, this time, sliding his tongue expertly inside her mouth, exploring her sweet cavern. Her heart pounded wildly but her mind still registered that they're not inside their room.

"Kuroro..." she whispered when the man started to push her down the couch and slipped his hand underneath her shirt. "We're in the living room."

"Mmmhh..." Kuroro only hummed and kissed her on her neck, earning a throaty moan from her.

"The kids..." she protested

"Are outside." He continued her broken sentence.

"But... the others..." she gasped when he nibbled the skin on her neck.

"Will leave us alone." Kurapika can't help but put her arms around his neck, pulling him closer towards him. Kuroro smiled at her reaction. "Let's give the twins a baby brother or sister, hm?"

Kurapika blushed; irritated by the way Kuroro could say embarrassing things so easily. But suddenly, they heard Krisu shout and both Kuroro and Kurapika stopped what they're doing. The couple swiftly stood up and ran towards the garden near the entrance gate of the mansion. Upon arriving, they found Krisu crying, hugging his sister while Karin was protectively blocking five familiar figures away from her brother.

"Hey, hey, kids. No need to overreact." An eyebrow-less man tried to pacify the glare that Karin is giving him, a glare that resembled Kuroro's so much.

Krisu looked up and caught sight of his favourite father. "Daddy!" he shouted and ran towards him. Kuroro caught the boy and carried the boy. His son buried his face on his shoulder and Kurapika looked at the figures. She didn't wonder why Krisu was suddenly afraid.

Right in front of them, Kuroro's Spiders stood. Shalnark, Phinx, Nobunaga, Shizuku, and Coltopi all looked at Karin then to Krisu.

"Good day, Danchou!" Shalnark greeted gleefully.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"A mini-Danchou." Shizuku muttered as she stroked Krisu's hair gently. He is sitting on her lap, munching on a chocolate that was brought by the maids.

"And a mini-chain assassin." Nobunaga mumbled dumbly as he stared eye-to-eye with Karin.

After Kuroro had calmed his son down and explained to him that Coltopi is not a hair monster, the twins decided to believe him and get to know their visitors. Krisu grinned widely at Shalnark and it was amazing how the sandy blond man communicated easily with the child, often telling him funny stories and playing childish games with their hands. Karin was too curious and talked with Coltopi then transferred to Phinx then started a staring competition with Nobunaga. After Krisu had finished playing with Shalnark, he went to Shizuku and sat on her lap. The woman took a chocolate from the coffee table and gave it to the boy to munch.

Kurapika practically didn't want to leave the kids to the Spiders' hands but it seems like she has nothing to worry about. She walked back to he own study room to write on her new book again. She also decided to go back to the Underground River after Christmas season is over . Kuroro is now talking to Shalnark, inquiring about the hunt for Hisoka that has been going on for a week now. Unfortunately, they still don't have any clues to where he is, because of the fact that they actually don't have any main leads yet. Franklin and Feitan are already exploring the place where the clown last used his Hunter's License card.

"Good. Just keep that pace." Kuroro said and Shalnark nodded. The techy guy looked around and his Danchou smiled. "And if you're looking for Aki, she's in the Bethel Main Tower."

Shalnark blushed. "Ah. No." He replied then smiled. "Ne, Danchou, I didn't know you had twins." He said and the man nodded.

"It was quite a shock for me too."

"Why do you have a palm tree on your head?" They heard Karin ask Nobunaga.

A couple of laughs erupted from the other Spiders and Kuroro looked at them, a light smile on his face.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Alicia Myrtle sat relaxingly on her swivel chair as she smoked an expensive-looking cigarette and holding a glass of red wine on her other hand. Sitting just in front of her, is no other than Mr. Johansen. She blew the smoke out of her mouth and turned to him.

"Bethel Industries is very powerful, in case you haven't noticed." She said and took a little sip on her wine. "You're just an ant compared to them."

"That's why I came here for your help." Mr. Johansen replied. "You're my brother's wife. You've got to help me."

"And what will I get in return?" she asked and the man was suddenly quiet. Alicia laughed slyly. "Look at it this way, John. My father wouldn't dare go against Kuroro. He knows how cunning that man is and with one word, he can bring Myrtle Corporations down." She smoked again before continuing. "And besides, he's totally my type and I'm going after the position of becoming Mrs. Lucifer." The redhead smiled broadly and must be imagining her future wedding with the man.

Suddenly, it's Mr. Johansen's time to laugh manically. "Heh. You still don't know yet?"

Alicia looked at him. "Don't know what?"

"That he's getting married."

His words shocked the life out of the woman. "What?" she asked again for confirmation.

"He's getting married. I don't know the full details but the media says that he must have impregnated someone and is taking responsibility for what he did."

"And who is this woman?" she scowled at the thought.

"My men say she's some blonde."

At the mention of blonde, Alicia quickly registered the face of the blonde woman she met back in the Underground River. Kuroro and the said blonde suddenly disappeared one night during her stay there and she wondered where the two went.

"This is stupid." She hissed and rubbed the cigarette stick on the ash tray. "Then I guess I just have to give up on him." Alicia sighed dramatically and shrugged. "Kuroro's difficult and no one make him crack."

"Yes, there is someone." Johansen corrected with a smirk. "His kids."

"He has children?" the redhead asked shockingly. "More reason to give up on him. I'll just find another man who will suit my taste. Although I doubt that they'll be as good as Kuroro."

"Help me and there will be a big possibility that his wedding will not happen and you'll have him." The man offered shamelessly.

"It's like you're telling me to betray your brother."

"You've always been messing around when he's not looking. You don't even use Johansen even when you're married to him."

"Alicia Johansen? Ew!"

Mr. Johansen's eye twitched but he remained calm. He knew how bratty and bitchy Alicia can act and one just has to get used to her. And besides, he needs her in order to 'crack' Kuroro Lucifer. He's going to get his revenge to matter what and he will use everything at his expense in order to bring down Bethel Corporations. It may seem like an impossible feat but it doesn't hurt to dream, right?

"I'll think about your offer." Alicia finally said at length and smirked. "Now, if you don't mind, get out of my office."

Johansen scoffed and stood up to exit the room. Actually he can't wait to get out. The woman's presence is too suffocating to look at.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"No." Kuroro stubbornly said.

"Karin likes it!" Kurapika retorted. "Just do it."

"Seriously, Kurapika, there are much better activities than that."

"No, there isn't." The blonde angrily pointed at a certain word in the list that Shalnark gave him. "To Karin, baking is like experimenting."

Kuroro grunted and looked at the word again.

_**BAKING. **_

He's not fond of things like this but Kurapika insisted that the activity will definitely make him and Karin closer. She also told him that Karin, despite her cold and silent appearance, actually enjoys anything related to cooking. The girl once baked a blue berry pie that Krisu and Kurapika liked to eat very much. What they didn't know is that Karin added some sort of sugar that she accidentally made while she was experimenting. Fortunately, there were no side effects whatsoever.

"Baking." Kuroro whispered and leaned back on his chair. "Fine." He said with a sigh and Kurapika smiled.

"Then Krisu and I will be doing something else." Kurapika stated. "I'll tell the maids to prepare what you need. Good Luck." And with that, she walked out of the room casually.

Kuroro sighed and stayed in his study room for a few minutes, researching about baking in the net. Usually, when he's not interested in doing something, he wouldn't exert any effort and wouldn't move at all. But this time, he made an exception. Well, baking is probably not that bad.

Closing his laptop, Kuroro stood up and strode downstairs, heading towards the kitchen. Kurapika was true to her words. Upon arriving, he saw that the tables were filled with the necessary ingredients and tools for making cakes, cupcakes, pies, soufflés, bread... everything. There were different candy and fruit toppings too. Not far from where he's standing, he saw Karin carrying a glass bowl with a whisk. She must have noticed him standing for she turned her attention to him.

"Papa." Karin called out with a smile.

Kuroro smiled back, walked towards her and carried the bowl instead.

"So, let's start?" he asked and the girl nodded eagerly.

It seems like baking is not a bad idea after all. Karin had been very responsive to him as he asked her the next steps. A baking cook book is open on the table and the father and daughter decided to make a banana walnut cupcake. It was Kuroro who made the batter while Karin decided on the filling of the cupcake. There were a few problems like not enough sugar, too much mashed bananas, only a little whipped cream, and etc. But in the end, everything became okay as they scooped the batter and put them neatly on the cupcake liners. The oven was preheated by Kuroro to 350 degrees and they put the cupcakes inside.

Karin insisted that while they wait, they must bake a cake too. Kuroro laughed and nodded, earning a bright smile in return.

"What flavour?" he asked as he opened another cook book on cakes.

"Chocolate!" Karin exclaimed excitedly and helped her Papa flip the pages on the book.

Meanwhile, outside, Kurapika watched from afar with a smile on her face. She never thought she's going to see Kuroro like this; an apron tied around his waist, his hair stained with some flour, his hands holding a whisk, and his shirt dirtied by the filling that Karin made. Speaking of Karin, she seemed to be enjoying herself as well. The wall she would usually put up when she's around her father has been crumbled down.

"Mommy, can't I join them?" Krisu asked as he, too, watched his father and sister.

"You'll have your turn next time. Let's go." Kurapika replied and took Krisu away.

Back to Kuroro and Karin, the former had taken out the cupcakes out and the latter is ready to decorate them. Karin decorated the cakes to her heart's content, putting a nut there, placing a blue berry on top, and showering them with sprinkles. All the while, Kuroro watched his daughter and in the end, she also pulled him along to decorate with her.

"We'll surely have lots of desserts this dinner time." He said and Karin nodded. Kuroro took one cupcake, peeled the paper part underneath, and then held it out for his daughter to taste.

Karin opened her mouth and took a big bite from the cupcake. She chewed it happily while smiling at him.

"Tastes good?" he asked then also took a bite on the cake. It does taste good. He'll definitely make a good baker.

"It'd be nice if we combined all sorts of berries, right?" Karin said.

"Well, that would be an interesting combination." Kuroro agreed.

Then, the two turned their attention back to the cake they're making.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Did you really bake this?" Kurapika asked Kuroro during dessert time while eating the banana walnut cupcake.

"Why? Did you think I can't make something good as that?" the man asked back as he ate the cake that they made a while ago.

"Yeah, I did think so." She said and looked at Karin and Krisu.

"You wound me." Kuroro playfully replied.

Their twins are currently eating the desserts energetically, with Karin proudly telling her brother of how they meticulously baked the cakes. Kuroro smiled while listening to her and the girl suddenly turned to look at him.

"Pa, let's make chocolate soufflé next time!" Karin suggested and took in a mouthful of cake.

"That's not fair!" Krisu exclaimed. "Let's go kite flying next time, Daddy!"

"Now, you two stop this." Kurapika reprimanded them while Kuroro only watched with a smile.

The atmosphere around them is like a warm, happy family. For the first time in seven years, Kuroro was truly contented. He'd never thought that something like this will actually happen to a criminal like him. Having a family to call his own, having children to raise, having a wife to love, and having a peaceful life to live. He looked at Kurapika, who's still trying to pacify the twins' argument. She's the reason for everything, the reason why all the good things happened to his life and he can't thank her enough.

"Kurapika." He called out and the blonde turned towards him. Out of impulse, Kuroro leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, making the Kuruta flinch. Her lips tasted of banana and nuts from the cup cake and when he pulled back, he can see her blushing.

"Ummm... I'm full." Karin suddenly announced and hurriedly exited the dining hall.

Krisu was still staring at his parents with wide eyes until his senses that left him finally came back.

"Too sweet." He described and put down the cupcake he's holding then ran out of the dining room too, following his sister's action. But his other hand is actually holding another cake.

Both Kurapika and Kuroro chuckled amusingly as they watched the twins. They also stood up to prepare themselves for bed and the maids then fixed the table when they left.

In the end, the twins messed around the mansion, and ran around every room because of sugar rush. They went to bed late and Kuroro mentally noted not to have cupcakes or any other cakes for dessert during dinner time once again.

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**Author's Note:** _I know it seems very OOC for Kuroro to bake but my wild imagination made me do this! There you go, Chapter 7! Please Read and REVIEW! Thank you so much for my reviewers and readers! Mwaahhh! Hope you like this chapter._

**Next:** _An old 'friend' visits Kurapika and Kuroro. Kuroro finds out where the last two pairs of scarlet eyes are located. What will he do to get it? It's almost Christmas (in their time zone)!_


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story: **_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 8

Scarlet Eyes

Kurapika didn't know why _his_ picture is still displayed in a mahogany shelf in the living room. She just noticed it one fair afternoon when she put Karin's books in the said shelf. The picture of Kairo Bethel is sitting idly on one untouched corner of the shelf. The blonde was slightly stunned when her blue eyes landed on the photo and Karin noticed her mother because she's just sitting on a couch peacefully, waiting for her Mama to get the book she wanted.

"Ma?" Karin called out and stood up to approach her mother. The little girl stopped at took a slight peek inside the shelf and saw the picture. "Who is he?" she asked, making Kurapika flinch a little. Fortunately, her reaction went unnoticed by her daughter.

Smiling to herself, Kurapika took the picture frame and gave it to Karin. "He's your grandpa." She explained briefly as Karin took the frame from her.

The little blonde looked at it and then to Kurapika. "Where is he now?" she asked.

"I don't know." Her mother replied hastily.

"Can I show this to Krisu too?"

Kurapika nodded as Karin walked upstairs, hugging the frame safely to her chest. Now alone, she also walked upstairs back to her private study room to continue with her book. Kuroro had been busy with his work lately and Kurapika felt a little guilty because he's the one who takes good care of the things that her Uncle Kairo left for her. She once offered that she will help him in the business but the man insisted that she just focus on her writing career. He said he wouldn't want the great Ayumi Suzuki to stop writing award-winning books because of some responsibilities that he can handle himself.

Kuroro needed no help in managing their entire business empire. But lately, a lot of minor problems have been occurring and the man had to go to his office and fix them. Truth to tell, Kurapika had been a little upset since she can't spend some time with him, although she wouldn't admit it to him. Ever since the twins came, they almost can't have time for each other. They had to have their guards up to protect their kids.

Their security is just like the one in the Zoaldyeck mansion since the Gushiken Manor is also standing in a mountain. Their trusted and strong butlers are assigned in the different parts of the mansion and the mountain in order to make sure no one can easily infiltrate inside. So basically, the area is safe for their kids. But Kurapika can't be sure if it will be the same thing once the kids start going to school.

Both Kuroro and Kurapika had decided to send the twins to school once the Christmas holidays are over. As much as possible, the two would want to spend some time with them. Kuroro is not a religious person and he had told her that he doesn't have any religion at all. He has beliefs and principles that he upholds but no religious convictions whatsoever. He reads the bible sometimes, but only because he likes studying the philosophy behind it. But despite all that, Kuroro can go with the flow, like celebrating Christmas with them.

Kurapika let out a silent sigh as she entered her study room. Her laptop is resting on her table and she took her place to start with her book. But somehow, she can't write anything. No matter how hard she thinks of something, nothing comes into her mind.

"Ugh." She grunted annoyingly and sat back on her chair. "I need inspiration." The blonde whispered to herself. Yes, every writer needs an inspiration to make her work marvellous and breathtaking.

Finally, deciding that she should get out, Kurapika stood up and went to her shared room with Kuroro. Upon arriving, she opened the wardrobe and pulled out her jacket, hastily wearing it. Then, she rode down the mountain in her own car to go to the Bethel Main Tower. But before she left, she made sure to order the Elite Seven to watch over the twins and call her immediately if something happens. Kuroro's Spiders are long gone now, resuming their search for Hisoka.

It has been a while since she last visited in the Bethel Main Tower. Seven years ago, before she was engaged to Kuroro, Kairo Bethel loved taking her in the Main Tower, teaching her a lot of stuff about how he runs his business. If she's not training, she would come here, too, studying the things going on around.

Kurapika looked around and went inside the elevator. If her memory serves her right, the president's office, in this case Kuroro's working place is located at the very top of the tower. Many things changed in the past years and she was delighted to know that her future husband is really doing his best.

The elevator opened, revealing the same floor that the twins saw when they first came here. Some of the employees momentarily stopped working and looked over their cubicles to see who it was. A few of them gasped while the others asked those who knew her.

"Sir Kairo's niece." Kurapika heard one of them say but she continued walking.

"Good afternoon, Miss." A familiar girl greeted her and the blonde turn to see who it was. She stopped walking and smiled back at the employee.

"Good afternoon, Riza." The blonde greeted and walked towards the girl. Riza is one of the faithful employees in the Bethel Main Tower, whom Kurapika is so fond of.

"It has been a long time, Miss. How are you?" Riza asked and the Kurapika chuckled. The girl doesn't know that she had been missing for seven years now. The blonde vaguely wondered how Kuroro managed to keep her disappearance a secret to others. There hasn't been any news about the missing Bethel heiress when she was in hiding.

"I'm doing fine. How was the company?" she asked.

"Mr. Lucifer is doing a great job, Miss." The girl replied cheerfully. "And by the way, congratulations."

Kurapika furrowed her eyebrows. "On what?" she assumed that it's about the launching of her latest book. But maybe not, because Riza doesn't even know that she's a writer.

"With your marriage with Mr. Lucifer, of course!" the employee exclaimed, making the blonde Kuruta blush furiously.

"Not so loud!" Kurapika hissed, still flushing visibly.

"Eh? But everyone here knows."

At that, Kurapika looked back and caught the other employees listening to their conversation. She sent them back with a slight glare and they immediately resumed on their work. Then, the Kuruta looked at her friend.

"What do you mean everyone knows?"

"Well, that's what the media says." Riza replied. "And someone overheard Mr. Lucifer talk about a wedding ring with Yumiko."

"Ugh." She grunted in response but smiled at Riza.

"Hey you!" a loud voice suddenly boomed and Riza and Kurapika both turned around. A brown-haired man in a light blue long-sleeved polo shirt and white tie was striding towards their direction. The blonde heard Riza utter an 'uh-oh' as she resumed working again. The man stopped in front of Kurapika and gave her a stern look.

"No slacking off during office hours." He told her and Kurapika's face sported a confused look. "You must be the new employee."

Riza almost wanted to shout and tell him that Kurapika is not a 'new employee' but the look that the man gave her alone made her stop in her action.

"Excuse me?" Kurapika replied.

"Just because you're new doesn't mean you can pretend you don't know. Go back to your cubicle and work before I fire you." He growled, making Kurapika almost snap at her.

"Now, look here-." The blonde didn't manage to finish for the man interrupted her.

"No excuses. Go back to your desk now." Then, he turned around and walked back to his own office. He's not working in a cubicle, meaning he has a high position in the company.

"Oh goodness. He is so dead when Mr. Lucifer finds out about this." Riza exclaimed excitedly and Kurapika looked at her.

"Who is he?"

"The new financial supervisor, Mr. Raison. He's a terror, you know." The girl replied with a shrug.

"I see." The blonde replied. "Well, I got to go now." Then, she walked towards Kuroro's office. Yumiko regarded her with a bow as she entered. However, what she saw inside was something she didn't expect.

Inside, Kuroro was sitting in his usual swivel chair, with is laptop open in front of him, typing something. But there was another person beside him. She saw a familiar red-headed woman, whispering something to Kuroro's ear in a very sensual way. Kuroro even smiled! Kurapika could barely take her eyes away from the sight, but suddenly, Alicia looked up and her eyes met Kurapika's blue ones.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the girl in the picture frame." She said in a mocking voice, causing Kuroro to look up from his laptop.

"Kurapika?" he asked, obviously shocked.

"I'm sorry. I must have interrupted something." The blonde stated in venomous voice, slammed the doors shut, and walked away, back to the elevator.

"Kurapika!" Kuroro yelled once again, standing up to chase after her, leaving Alicia dumbfounded.

Kurapika almost reached the elevator when the raven-haired man managed to catch up to her and grabbed her hand, making the Kuruta turn around to face him. Obviously, the employees, along with Riza, were shocked to see the scene happening in front of them. They can barely concentrate on their work.

"Listen. It's not what you think it is." His voice was low, making sure that only the two of them can hear. He knows that the others around them are gossip mongers.

"So, this is why you've been _very_ busy. That redhead is actually visiting you every day." Kurapika hissed and the elevator opened. "Let go. I want to go back." She demanded and Kuroro only sighed.

Suddenly, he stepped inside the elevator, pulling Kurapika with him. When the elevator closed, the man pushed the button for the ground floor and faced the angry Kuruta.

"Let me explain first. Stop acting like an overly jealous wife." He also demanded and let go of her hand.

"Is it wrong to get jealous?" she asked angrily. But Kurapika suddenly regretted saying those words when Kuroro stared at her, shocked. But then, he broke into an amused smirk.

"So, you are jealous." He stated it as if it's a fact.

"No." She denied and looked away from him.

"You just said-."

"I asked whether it's wrong to get jealous. I didn't say I am jealous." The blonde retorted, interrupting him. But that smirk is still in his face.

"Look, Alicia is just telling me that her brother will invest in Bethel Industries. Nothing else." Kuroro explained and the elevator opened, revealing the ground floor.

Kurapika was about to step out when the man pulled her back again and pressed the button back to the highest floor. He earned a glare from her, but he said nothing else.

"Oh Really? Then is it necessary for her to press her body that close to you?" she asked angrily, demanding honest answers from him.

"_No need to ask. She is jealous."_ Kuroro gleefully thought to himself. "Alicia... just have her unusual ways." He explained, hoping that it's enough for her. Unfortunately, Kurapika did not say anything after that.

But a few seconds later, she finally replied. "How often does she come here?" Kurapika asked, a little bit calm now.

Kuroro didn't want to answer that but he had no choice. "Almost every day." He finally said at length, making the Kuruta flinch.

"Every day?" she asked, both shocked and angry.

"I said _'almost'_." He replied, emphasizing the last word.

"But she still comes here." Kurapika grunted irritatingly and rolled her eyes.

Kuroro sighed as if he had been defeated, and suddenly pulled the blonde towards him. Kurapika gasped at his impulse action and then found herself wrapped around his arms. She can feel his warm breath brushing against her skin and she shuddered a little.

"Really, you look adorable when jealous." He whispered and buried his face at the crook of her shoulder. He had definitely been stressed for the past few days and his Kuruta's unexpected visit suddenly refreshed him. He just didn't expect that she'd catch him in that situation.

"I said I'm not jealous." Kurapika denied for the second time, annoyed by his persistence, but she did not show any resistance in his embrace. She knows that the nen of a person can be reflected by his/her mood and right now, the blonde can tell, through his nen, that he's mentally exhausted and strained. She returned his embrace by slowly wrapping her arms around him.

But then, they pulled apart when the elevator opened once again.

Kuroro sighed and looked at her. "Let's go." He said, intertwined his fingers with hers, and the two stepped out to head back to his office. He just hoped that Alicia did not stay there and waited for him. Now that he had seen Kurapika jealous, he can deduce that she's sort of possessive. Kuroro is also very possessive and there's no way he's going to share Kurapika to anyone.

When they entered the office once again, all the while ignoring the looks of the nosy employees, Alicia is still there, drinking a glass of red wine. The redhead turned her attention to the couple and smirked annoyingly at Kurapika. She put down her glass and looked at Kuroro seductively.

"Why did you leave me here, sweetheart?" she purred at him and the Kuruta's eyes twitched.

"Sweet-." Kurapika clenched her fists hard.

"Alicia." Kuroro called out. "If you have nothing else to say, please get out." He said coldly which took the redhead aback.

"Fine." Alicia replied, rolled her eyes, and then exited the room without sparing Kurapika a glance.

When they were finally alone, Kurapika walked towards the couch and sat down on it. She looked around the office and smiled to herself. Things certainly changed.

"Now, mind if you tell me what you came here for?" Kuroro suddenly asked her.

Kurapika flinched for a second. Now that she had thought about it, she actually had no idea why she came here. Then what should she tell him? That she wanted to see him because they had barely enough time for each other? There no way in hell she would say that!

"I just thought that maybe you needed some help in the company." She finally said with a slight smile. "I heard that there are some problems here."

"That's right." Kuroro replied and went over to sit on his swivel chair. "There have been minor problems in the financial department."

Kurapika stood up and went to stand beside Kuroro. She looked at his laptop and read the reports. There was some anomaly happening by the financial department. Someone has been secretly using large amount of money and they have no idea where the money is going. The person must have hacked on their security system and masked the missing numbers.

But it's unbelievable. If there's one person she knew who could do it, it would be no other than Shalnark. But that guy wouldn't do such thing. And besides, he's busy hunting down Hisoka.

"Any suspects so far?" she asked and Kuroro shook his head.

"Only the members of the board know about this irregularity. We have to investigate this secretly." Kuroro replied and scrolled down. "As far as we're concerned, he managed to steal eight billion zennies."

"That's a large amount of money, Kuroro." Kurapika whispered and looked at him. "Are you going to ask Shalnark his help in this?"

"No, not for now. He's better off concentrating on their mission right now."

Just then, a couple of knocks was heard from Yumiko and she entered the room.

"Sir, Mr. Nostrad and his daughter are here." She said.

"Nostrad?" Kurapika asked, directing her question to Kuroro.

"He's one of the investors, Kurapika." The man explained and stood up.

The double doors opened and Light Nostrad stepped inside with his familiar pink-haired daughter following closely behind him. At first, Kurapika didn't know how to react upon seeing his former boss. But then, she locked eyes with Neon and the latter smiled cheerfully at her.

"Kurapika!" she exclaimed and ran towards her. "We finally meet again!"

"Uh... yeah." The blonde awkwardly replied but then smiled at her. "How are you, Neon?"

"I'm doing just fine!"

Then, the Kuruta looked at Light Nostrad. "Good afternoon, sir." She greeted and the old man smiled. He looked like he recovered from his loss many years ago, when his daughter lost her ability to prophesize.

"It has been a while, Kurapika." He said and turned his gaze to Kuroro.

"Ne, Kurapika, I heard you and Kuroro are getting married!" Neon suddenly brought up the topic and the blonde flushed. She's still the same Neon Nostrad whom she knew years ago. "When's the wedding? I want to help! I know many shops with gorgeous wedding gowns! I'm sure you'll look lovely in each of them. And the wedding cake and..." the pink-haired girl trailed off, giving Kurapika a little headache.

"Neon..." she called out but the girl continued chattering.

"Come on, Kurapika. I'll show you those wedding boutiques!" Neon exclaimed excitedly and pulled the poor Kuruta out of the office, leaving Light and Kuroro alone.

"Now, I assume you had the information I wanted." Kuroro started the conversation and Nostrad nodded.

"The York Shin Auctions were rescheduled to December 1." The old man said.

"Three days from now." The Spider head whispered to himself.

"According to my reliable sources, there will be one pair of scarlet eyes." Nostrad continued. "And as promised, I will sell to you the scarlet eyes we have."

Kuroro nodded. "How much do you want?"

"10 billion zennies."

He couldn't help but chuckle a little. Nostrad is the same greedy man he knew. It's a good thing that he didn't know he's the one responsible for the disappearance of his daughter's ability.

"Deal." Kuroro replied and Nostrad shook his hand.

"Why are you so interested in those eyes? You don't look like someone who loves collecting body parts like my daughter." Nostrad asked curiously and Kuroro smiled at him.

"It's actually my Christmas gift to someone." He replied.

"Oh? Is this someone very important that you're willing to buy a gift worth 10 billion?" the old man asked again.

"Of course. Money doesn't mean anything to me compared to that someone."

Nostrad looked at him intently and then realized that he's serious. Kuroro had been doing his best locating the scarlet eyes for the past seven years. His goal is to complete the 36 pairs before Christmas Eve. If there's anything Kurapika would want in her life, that would be seeing the complete set of her people's eyes. That would be the most perfect gift for her this Christmas.

"I see." Nostrad whispered understandingly.

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When Kuroro got home, carrying a few plastic bags, the twins immediately greeted him. Krisu hugged his feet happily while Karin just stood in front of him with a little smile. He wondered whether Kurapika is still out with Neon, shopping around the town. He knew that the blonde doesn't like activities like that, but with a pushy girl like Neon, she wouldn't have any escape routes.

"Daddy, did you bring something?" his son asked hopefully and the man chuckled. Krisu always asks something from him whenever he returns from work and he's starting to think that he's spoiling the little boy.

"Did you practice nen properly?" he asked and the boy nodded. "Then here's your reward." He gave him one bag and the boy received it happily. With the help of Karin, Krisu was able to open a few of his aura nodes in a span of five days. He's more talented than he thought. Karin on the other hand, is still continuing her practice on Ren and Ten before she could proceed into Hatsu.

"Yay! Thank you, Dad!" the boy exclaimed when he pulled out a new dog stuff toy from the bag. "But I'm afraid that Max will use this as his chew toy." He then hugged the toy to his chest.

Kuroro turned to his daughter and gave her the other plastic bag. The girl took it shyly. "Thank you, Papa." She said and the man ruffled her hair. She opened the bag and saw more books for her to read.

"Daddy?" Krisu called out.

"Yes?"

"Can you tell us stories about grandpa?" he asked and Kuroro furrowed his eyebrows.

"Grandpa?" he asked.

"The grandpa in that picture." Karin explained and pointed at a certain picture by the mahogany shelf.

Kuroro looked at his children. "How did you know he's your grandpa?" he asked.

"Mama told me and I told Krisu." Karin replied and his brother nodded.

"Can you tell us about him?" Krisu continued but his father shook his head.

"Maybe some other time." Kuroro said with a slight smile. "Your father's kind of tired."

The twins nodded understandingly and the man walked upstairs to change into comfortable clothes. Then, he headed towards his study room to finish up some reports and study the recent robbery happening within the company. Tomorrow, he ought to call for a meeting with the members of the board to discuss the progress of the investigation.

Then, he needs to prepare too. Three days from now, another prestigious auction will be happening in Yorkshin. He needs to keep his personal mission of purchasing the scarlet eyes a secret from Kurapika if he doesn't want his surprise to be spoiled.

Now, there's another thing he should be concerning himself about. Because of the problems in the Bethel Main Tower, he had momentarily forgotten about it, until Neon Nostrad shouted it excitedly at Kurapika.

_Their wedding._

He had finished proposing, which by the way was really embarrassing since he didn't expect Kurapika to demand that he say those words. So, the next step is to plan it. But he absolutely had zero idea what to do. Maybe he should hire a wedding planner or something.

Kuroro sighed and just resumed reviewing the reports.

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**Author's Note:** _So, I had a good time with my mom yesterday! I hope you did too! So I give you Chapter 8! Please Read and Review! Feel free to ask questions. Thank you for your reviews._

**Next:** _Kuroro continues his investigation on the missing money that grows big as the days continue. Kurapika helps out on the issue since she's also part of the company. Who is this Mr. Raison? _


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_ They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 9

Back to York Shin

"Here." Karin said and showed Krisu the wine glass filled with tap water. "Put the leaf on top."

Krisu nodded in response and carefully dropped the fresh leaf, which he picked from one of the garden bushes, on the water. The leaf steadily floated on top and the twins grinned at each other and Karin put the wine glass down on the table. The siblings are currently outside, practicing their nen in the garden, inside a white gazebo. It seems like Krisu is ready to know his aura type and Karin is helping him with the preparations. The two have been practicing intently since their father secretly promised them a reward: they will go and spend the Christmas holidays abroad. Their mother had no idea about the secret reward but the two are confident that Kuroro will keep his promise once they manage to start developing their Hatsus.

Right now, their parents are working in the Bethel Main Tower. Yesterday, their mother came home a little late and very exhausted, but she still managed to join them for dinner. After that, she retreated to her room while their father stayed up for a while and watched a little television with them before sending them to their rooms to sleep.

"Ne, Karin, should I start?" Krisu asked as he put his hands around the wine glass without touching it.

His sister nodded. "Use Ren." She ordered and the boy closed his eyes, opening his aura nodes and letting a large amount of nen to flow around his body. He had just recently learned this basic technique but he's too excited to know in what aura type he's born under.

A few seconds later, the leaf suddenly moved around the water, surprising Krisu, who had opened his eyes, and Karin, who was staring closely at the leaf. The boy immediately stopped releasing his nen and looked at his sister.

"What was that?" he asked with a grin. "Cool!"

"You're in Manipulation type!" Karin excitedly said.

"Manipulation? That means I can make things move, right?" Krisu asked and laughed happily. "This is so cool! Shalnark-oniisan is also in manipulation! I can ask him to help me in my Hatsu." He threw his head back on the bench relaxingly. "What about you, Karin? Who would you ask to be your teacher?"

"Ummm..." the girl wondered. She could ask her mother to be her teacher because she's also in Specialization type when her eyes are red. But Kurapika is originally from materialization type so it's not proper. "Papa, perhaps?" she asked no one in particular. But she's sure that her father would not be able to teach her since he's too busy nowadays.

"Daddy is also in Specialization, right? I want to see his Hatsu badly." Krisu whined as he wondered what's inside his father's Skill book. Unknown to him, Kuroro had actually shown his ability to Karin when she once asked him. Since she's in the same type as him, the man told her daughter about how his Skill book works and gave her a demonstration.

"I've thought about this and I think I'm now sure of what kind of Hatsu I want to develop." Karin said and her brother looked at her.

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

"Hundred Eyes." Karin replied vaguely with a smile, confusing her brother.

"Hundred Eyes?" he asked. "What kind of ability is that?"

"An ability that allows me to steal someone else's ability by copying the colour of their eyes." The girl started and Krisu listened intently. "If I want to use a stolen ability, I will have to change my eye colour into the person's eyes that originally owned it. But I'm sure it will require a lot of vows and limitations." She frowned at the thought.

"Then what's the meaning of 'Hundred'?" Krisu inquired.

"It means I can only steal a hundred abilities. I would need to eliminate one if I reach the limit." She replied rather casually. "Those are one of the conditions."

"But stealing? Don't you think that's bad, Karin?" her brother asked again. "What about borrowing the ability instead of stealing it?" the boy suggested.

But his sister shook her head. "That's no fun. And besides, I'm just going to steal the abilities from bad guy. That's doing good, right?"

"Well, I suppose."

"What about you? Any thoughts about your Hatsu so far?" she asked, changing their topic.

"I dunno. I've just learned that I'm in Manipulation. There's no need to rush, right?"

"Well, there is if you want to go on a Christmas vacation outside the country." Karin grinned mischievously at him.

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Kurapika entered the meeting room of the board of directors, following Kuroro, and took her seat next to him in a rectangular table. All the directors stood up and bowed and Kuroro signalled for them to sit down again. The atmosphere inside room felt tense and Kurapika noted that the directors are all serious with the investigation of the irregularity in the financial department.

The meeting immediately started when the secretary, Yumiko, announced the minutes of the meeting and the topics discussed during the last assembly. After that, Kuroro opened the subject about the recent robbery within the company and asked for an inside director, who is responsible for the network security system to explain how the suspect hacked into it. However, the intricacies of the method are still being studied by experts.

"Mr. Raison, if you would please explain to me how the missing money reached 10 billion overnight when we have already strengthened the security?" Kuroro asked with a stern voice as he looked at the report in his laptop. True to his words, the eight billion zennies has risen to 10 billion in just one night.

"Mr. Lucifer," the man started. "It looks to me like we're dealing with a complicated and..." but then he stopped when he looked at the blonde beside the CEO. His eyebrows clashed angrily as he stood up. "You again?" Raison exclaimed angrily and pointed his finger at Kurapika. "You dare sneak inside the Board room, pretending to be a director?"

Kuroro was a little stunned at his accusation and looked at Kurapika. However, the blonde just smiled amusingly at the financial manager's reaction. Sighing, Kuroro looked back to the fuming Raison. This man had always been a headache for him sometimes because of his short temper.

"Go back to your cubicle and work." Mr. Raison continued.

The other directors who know Kurapika doesn't have any idea what to say or do.

"You must have mistaken me for someone, Mr. Raison." Kurapika said, still smiling with a hint of mischievousness.

"Now you're making excuses." He replied and turned to Kuroro Lucifer. "I apologize, sir. She is the new employee and she doesn't know what she's doing."

This time, Kuroro decided to join Kurapika's amusement. "Really?" he asked. "I didn't know my wife applied in our company."

Mr. Raison immediately froze in the spot. "W-wife?" he stuttered and looked at the other members of the board. Some of them looked at him sympathetically while the others continued doing what they're supposed to do.

"That's right." Kuroro nodded to confirm his statement. "She's my wife and the real owner of Bethel Industries." He lied a little since they're not officially married yet.

Raison could have fainted right there and then as he looked the blonde then to his boss. "The real owner?"

One of the directors, Mr. Avery, finally decided to come to his rescue. He stood up and looked at Kurapika. "Forgive him, Miss. Mr. Raison is still a neophyte."

Kurapika turned to Mr. Avery with a genuine smile. "Mr. Avery, since you're one of my uncle's closest friends, I'm going to make an exception on your behalf. However," her voice suddenly sounded very serious as she turned her gaze back to Mr. Raison. "The attitude you showed me is disrespectful and it will reflect on Bethel Industries. Fix that or I'll be forced to find a suitable replacement for you."

Kuroro only chuckled slightly as the blonde scolded someone older than her. What's more amusing is that Mr. Raison nodded slowly and sat down again, sweat forming on his forehead.

Kurapika then stood up. "The issue we are tackling is about the financial department, which you, Mr. Raison, handle. As the best corporation in the entire world, people would assume that Bethel Group of Companies has the best security system in order to protect its interests." She paused for a while and looked the other directors, who are listening intently to her. "No person from the outside can easily infiltrate us. That possibility is very miniscule. But how come this kind of thing is happening right now? 10 billion zennies may seem a little amount to others but that money can be used to pay thousands of employees their wages." Kurapika finally sat down and leaned back on her chair. "Unless the hacker is someone who knows the company and its security system very well. I'm not finger pointing at anyone. I'm just merely looking at any possible angles in this situation."

After she had finished speaking, the other directors immediately discussed what she said with each other. True, no one can easily hack their system from the outside since Bethel Industries had strict rules and regulations that prevent the leakage of any information regarding their back accounts, security system, the stocks and shares... everything. So, why not look at the possibility that the suspect is actually someone working with them?

Kurapika had actually discussed this with Kuroro last night and the two ought to bring it up during the meeting. So far, the company had been investigating its potential rivals who can do this kind of thing.

"The Miss is right." A silver-haired man stood up and Kurapika looked at him. She kind of reminded by Killua's own silver hair when she saw him. "I suggest that we hire private investigators."

"Again? But that's what we did." One of the directors said.

"Yes," the silver-haired man said. "We hired private investigators to investigate our rivals. But we must hire some more to keep an eye on the financial department and the other branches."

"That would be useless." Kuroro suddenly said and the others turned their attention to the man. "Like what Kurapika said, the culprit might be someone among us. He or she might be even in this room right now, listening."

All of the directors tensed up and looked at each other.

"That's right. Speaking hypothetically, if the culprit is really someone in this room, then he or she would know the next step of this investigation." Kurapika added.

"Then what should we do then?" another director asked.

"As of now, Kuroro and I have no one to trust." The blonde replied and looked at the directors intently. "So leave the planning to us."

Kuroro immediately understood what she's thinking. If the culprit really is one of the members of the board, he would know every step, plans, and strategies on how to capture him, thus, it will enable him to easily find ways to carefully avoid being caught. If the planning is being handled by the two of them, the culprit will be pressured since he wouldn't know what surprises will be waiting for him that will lead to his capture.

If that is the case, the increasing number of the stolen money will stop for a while, indicating that the culprit is laying low because it is reckless to go against something you don't know. However, if the robbery still continues, there is a large possibility that the suspect is not one of them but someone from outside the company.

"But we're also part of this company, Miss. You can't leave us out like that." The silver-haired man said and the others nodded.

"I agree with the Miss. This is no longer a small issue so the way of solving this crime should be handled by them." Mr. Avery countered.

Mr. Avery must be very influential among the members of the board since many of them actually agreed in what he said. The silver-haired man also nodded and sat down again. Mr. Raison became awfully quiet when Kuroro revealed who Kurapika really is.

"I believe we have come to a decision. We will handle this investigation so for now, no questions must be asked and no other actions should be undertaken. Is that understood?" Kuroro asked and the directors all agreed. "Meeting adjourned."

The board room was immediately emptied, except for Kuroro and Kurapika. The latter was looking at Kuroro's laptop, seriously studying the recent report about the robbery while the former only stared at her, never taking his eyes off from the blonde's figure. It seems like he's fascinated by the view.

"You should be at the manor, writing your new book." The man suddenly brought up and Kurapika looked at him.

"I've finished the first few pages. I need more data to continue." Kurapika replied and he chuckled.

"I see." He nodded a little. "Can I read some of it?" Kuroro asked hopefully. He's particularly looking forward to her new book about the Underground River.

"No." The blonde refused and he chuckled again.

"Quite understandable." He said and leaned back on his chair. "Anyways, the twins asked about their grandfather yesterday."

Kurapika immediately tensed up and she focused herself on his laptop. "I see."

"Kairo." Kuroro whispered audibly and smiled. "Do you still hate him?" he asked.

"Don't bring him up." The blonde said with a little contempt in her voice.

"You should really stop running away, Kurapika." The man looked at her. "I assume that your aunt's nen curse is gone now, right?" he asked and Kurapika nodded in response.

"Yeah."

"What about your chains? Is it still used for the Spiders?" Kuroro chuckled a little at the thought.

"If it is, would I be here with you right now?" Kurapika asked back with a scoff. "I changed the conditions. I will only use the chains to protect the people important to me."

"Am I one of those important people?"

This time, the blonde sighed and closed the laptop. "Do you still need to ask that?"

"It doesn't hurt to be sure." The man replied casually, playfulness evident in his voice. "Anyways, if you don't abide those conditions, what's the consequence?"

"I would die."

"Kurapika, I would appreciate it if you remove the 'dying' part." Kuroro sighed and closed his obsidian eyes. "It doesn't sound good to me."

"Don't worry. I'm no longer that reckless teenager seven years ago." The blonde assured him with a slight smile.

"By the way, two days from now, I'll be off to York Shin."

"York Shin?" she asked.

"I have some business there with Nostrad and it'll take me three days." Then, the man looked at him and broke into a smug grin. "Make sure you don't miss me, love."

A faint pink blush made its way to the blonde Kuruta's cheeks, but she managed to conceal it by opening the laptop again that covered half of her face a little. It's has been a while since she heard Kuroro call her in that name and it still sounded very embarrassing and unnatural to her.

And how come she's still blushing?

"Really, Kuroro. I managed to live seven years without you so three days is not a big deal."

"You did. But you still missed me."

"Lunch time." Kurapika suddenly stood up, closed the laptop, and face him. "Alright, get up, Kuroro." She ordered and the man smiled, standing on his feet and followed the blonde out of the board room.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"You could have been fired for that!" Mr. Johansen yelled at the person on the other side of the phone.

"_But I didn't know that she's actually Kairo Bethel's niece_!" the person replied and Mr. Johansen grunted.

"Fine, fine. Just stay low for a while. Be careful, do you understand? You're the only spy I got there."

"_Alright. Should I tell the hacker to really stop?"_

"Of course, you idiot! What if they set a up trap and we get caught red-handed?"

"_Okay, okay. No need to overdo it. Bye."_

Johansen also pushed the 'end call' button and turned around to face a red-haired woman, sitting casually while drinking her red wine. She was also looking at him with a smug smirk plastered on her face and such expressions always annoyed the man. It reminded him of a certain raven-haired man, who is always wearing the same arrogant expression.

"Do you seriously think that stealing 10 billion zennies from them would bring their company down? Be more realistic." Alicia mocked the man as she took a cigarette pack that is lying on her table. "And since that Kurapika girl is actually the real owner of Bethel Industries, things are much more complicated."

"You're right." Johansen agreed begrudgingly. "I didn't expect this twist."

"Why don't you change your target from Kuroro Lucifer to that Kurapika girl?" the redhead suggested and lit up her cigar, putting it to her mouth and inhaled the smoke. "But from the looks of it, it won't be easy since Kuroro is very protective of her. Have you seen her get jealous? Kuroro practically panicked!" she stated as she recalled the events inside her head. Alicia swore she saw the blonde's eyes turn scarlet for a moment before storming out of the office.

"I told you, the only thing that can make him crack is his family. I saw his twins the last time I paid him a visit." The man replied and remembered the cold glare that the little blonde gave him.

"You're still the same; always involving innocent people."

"Tsk. I don't care as long as I get what I deserve."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When the couple got home, the twins immediately greeted them, with Karin complaining about how Krisu broke two wine glasses and the boy defending himself, saying that it was all an accident. Then, as always, Kuroro gave them more gifts and the two instantly forgot the things they were about to say.

"You should really stop spoiling them before they get used to it." Kurapika complained as she sat down on the comfy couch of the living room. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes to rest them.

"I think they're used to it now." Kuroro replied and took off his tie, jacket, and the covering wrapped around his forehead, and then put them on a nearby chair. He walked towards the blonde and sat down beside her.

The couple was silent for a while, enjoying each other's company. The can still hear the children chattering lively as they ran upstairs and downstairs. Just then, the twins ran towards their parents with a grin on their faces. Kuroro looked at the two for a while, deducing that they have something up in their heads.

"What is it?" he asked and Kurapika opened her aquamarine eyes to look at them.

"Krisu is in manipulation type." Their little girl said and her brother grinned.

Kurapika smiled down at her son. "Is that true? That's good then. Keep practicing, okay?" she said and the boy nodded eagerly. She and Kuroro honestly thought that he'd be in Reinforcement type since he has a very simple-minded personality. But it seems like aura types can't be determined through the traits.

"Pa, I now know the Hatsu I should develop!" Karin exclaimed excitedly.

"Really?" he asked and carried the girl, putting her on his lap. At the same time, Krisu also climbed the couch and sat beside his mother. "What it is?" Kuroro asked.

"It's just like your Hatsu. I can steal other people's abilities. I liked the idea of stealing abilities." She replied and Kurapika could only gape speechlessly at her daughter.

"Karin." The blonde woman called out firmly. "Why don't you think of another type of ability that doesn't work like your Papa's?" she suggested. Karin is starting to think like her father now and Kuroro only chuckled as the little girl furrowed her eyebrows.

"But why?" she asked with a frown. "I like it."

"Well, _I_ don't. Didn't I teach you that _stealing_ is bad?" Kurapika explained, emphasizing the word 'stealing' as she looked at Kuroro. The man on the other hand is just smiling contentedly.

"That's what I told her, Mom." Krisu said and looked at his sister. "See? Stealing is bad."

"But I'll just steal abilities from bad guys!" the girl continued insisting and looked at her father for some back up. "That's a good thing, right, Papa?" she asked.

"Of course." Kuroro replied.

"Kuroro!" Kurapika exclaimed disapprovingly at him, but the man just chuckled.

"Okay, fine." He said. "Listen to your Mama." Karin pouted a little and shook her head.

"But I like it." She whispered and her mother sighed in defeat. This is what happens when kids are getting spoiled.

"Mom, Dad, can you tell us about grandpa?" Krisu suddenly asked hopefully and both their parents tensed up. Kuroro immediately looked at Kurapika.

The woman was rigid for a second before she smiled at her son. "Sure. What do you want to hear?" she asked and both kids squealed in glee as they listened. Ever since they got reunited with their father, anything about their family would always interest them.

The twins immediately started asking her questions regarding their grandpa. Kurapika would willingly tell them about him with a genuine smile on her face while Kuroro just listened and looked at her, also smiling with clear contentment inside him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_Two days later..._

"Daddy, where are you going?" Krisu asked his father fine morning, eyes still a little sleepy. He was looking at Kuroro, who is dressed in a manner that indicates he's going far away. A medium-sized luggage is resting not far from the man as he talked with Kurapika about the robbery. The 10 billion missing money did not increase even a zenny as they expected.

Kuroro looked down and saw his little boy, tugging his coat while dragging his blue teddy bear with his right hand. He lowered himself and sat on his heels to have the same eye level with his son.

"I'm going away for a while. Is there anything you want when I come back?" Kuroro asked and he was sure that Kurapika is giving him a light glare, saying that he should stop spoiling the boy. Nevertheless, she did not say anything.

"Chameleon!" The boy grinned at his father.

"Sure." Kuroro replied and saw, not far away from them, Karin walking towards his brother.

"Krisu, let's practice nen." She said and the boy shook his head.

"Daddy's going away." Krisu said with a little whining voice and Karin looked at her Papa.

Kuroro smiled back at her as Krisu stepped aside to make way for Karin so that she could talk with their father too. Unknown to the man, his son actually tiptoed behind him.

"Would you like another book, Karin?" he asked but the girl shook her head.

"Just come back right away." She whispered shyly and suddenly hugged her father's neck. Kuroro was taken aback a little but then smiled to himself as he opted to carry the little girl. But suddenly, another body threw itself on him, climbing up his back. Two little hands were resting on his shoulder, tightly gripping it.

"I want a piggy back, Daddy!" Krisu exclaimed when he finally settled himself on his back.

"Krisu, that's enough." Kurapika scolded and Kuroro laughed a little. The blonde Kuruta carried Krisu as the boy whined slightly. Karin had stopped hugging her Papa and the man now stood up then faced his son.

"Maybe next time." He said and ruffled the boy's hair, earning a playful laugh. "Be good to your mom, you two." Kuroro said and the twins replied with a cheerful 'yes'.

Then, Krisu wriggled out of his mother's embrace and ran outside with Karin to practice their nen. Kurapika finally accepted her daughter's idea of a Hatsu when she continued insisting about it and used Kuroro to persuade her too.

"I heard today is the auctions in York Shin." The blonde brought up the topic and Kuroro looked at her, suspecting that she might know. "I just hope you're not bringing along some of your Spiders and loot the events again like what you did years ago."

The man chuckled. "If I am, I'm just doing it for the thrill. It has been a while since I was chased by the mafia." He replied, remembering the last time he joined his Spider in stealing something just for _fun _(Phinx said that to convince him to join them)_._

"Really, now." Kurapika crossed her arms glared at him but he took it lightly.

"I'll be back." He said and swiftly leaned forward to land a gentle kiss on her soft lips. The blonde Kuruta blushed a little and was annoyed at his impulse kisses and touches. Well, she should get her_ revenge_ next time.

Kuroro left, riding on his car. The children waved energetically to him and Kurapika only watched from afar, still flushing lightly and smiling at him.

Now, the auctions in York Shin will start when he arrives there and the man is prepared to get his target item; the scarlet eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** _I made Krisu belong in Manipulation since Manipulation types can turn into Specialization some time. His scarlet eyes will play a role in aiding him in turning to Specialization like Kurapika. What do you think of Karin's planned abitlity? It's still partial though. I don't know if it's good enough for KuraKuro's daughter._

_By the way, what do you think if I write Yaoi about KuraKuro? I like Yaoi and I read many Yaoi stories. Tee Hee..._

**Next:** _Kuroro arrives in York Shin and bids on the scarlet eyes. Kurapika makes a certain decision that will lead her and Kuroro to travel around the world to find a long-lost loved one before Christmas comes. _


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_ They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 10

An Early Christmas Gift

"And the main item of tonight's underground auction..." the announcer paused for effect as the other bidders leaned a little from their seats, indicating how interested they are. "... one of the seven rarest items in the world; the Kurutan scarlet eyes!"

The dark blue cloth that was covering the item was removed, revealing a pair of vibrant and brilliant scarlet eyes, floating inside two cylindrical glasses. Almost all the bidders murmured about getting the eyes no matter what. Some of them even said that they will bid no matter how much it will cost them. Kuroro can't blame them. That is the last scarlet eyes ever seen in so many years.

"This pair was found inside an abandoned mansion of a very well-known family. As far as the experts know, this isbe the last scarlet eyes to be ever seen. The remaining 35 pairs have disappeared mysteriously from their owners." The female announcer explained and it seems like the bidders were listening intently. "The bid starts with 5 billion zennies!"

"6 billion!" one bidder immediately shouted.

"6.5 billion!" another countered.

"7 billion!"

"10 billion!"

"12 billion!"

The bidding continued restlessly and Kuroro waited patiently until no one would bid anymore. He didn't particularly like verbally fighting with the others and he doesn't have anything to worry about. No matter how high the bid would get, he's sure that he can offer a higher amount than that. He waited until such time that the money reached 27 billion zennies. Kuroro looked at the last person who bid that amount and he can see a triumphant grin on his face.

"No more offers?" the announcer asked, waiting for someone else to bid higher than 27 billion.

"30 billion." Kuroro declared immediately and the others looked at him. Some of them recognized him as the president of Bethel Group of Companies.

"No more offers?" the announcer asked again. For a moment, the bidders were silent, not knowing whether they should compete with such high amount. Then, seeing that no one is interested anymore, the announcer finally closed the bidding. "The Kurutan scarlet eyes are sold to number 217 for 30 billion zennies!"

Kuroro smiled to himself as the others clapped their hands for his victory. Now that he got what he came here for, he would like to go back to Kaede Gushiken district, back to his home and family.

When the auction was finished, Kuroro walked towards the desk where the items that have been won will be given. He showed his 217 plate number to the man in-charge and he was given a brown box containing the scarlet eyes. The raven-haired man carefully took it and walked out of the auction hall to breathe some fresh air. Outside, Light Nostrad was actually waiting for him.

"30 billion zennies for a pair of scarlet eyes?" the old man asked, a little shocked.

"Not just any pair, Nostrad. These are the last pair of scarlet eyes." Kuroro chuckled as they walked out of the building.

"But that is still a very big amount of money for just a tribe's relics." Nostrad said in a flat tone. "Last time I won a pair of scarlet eyes, it was Kurapika who bid for me and she won it for only 2 billion zennies. Although it mysteriously disappeared after some time."

"Mhmm..." Kuroro hummed a little and remembered that the scarlet eyes that Kurapika won many years ago was a fake, created with Coltopi's materialization ability.

"Anyway, what would a man of your calibre be doing in a dangerous mafia underground auction without any bodyguards?" his companion asked as they walked out of the building and headed for their respective cars.

"I don't need bodyguards. I can protect myself." The Spider head replied curtly and reached his car. He turned to Nostrad with his friendly smile. "Well then, I'm off." He said and entered his car, placing the scarlet eyes on the back seat, then drove towards Beitacle Hotel. Tomorrow, he's immediately going back to Gushiken Manor to put away the scarlet eyes and complete the 36 pairs.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"I don't understand how you could be so careless sometimes, Karin." Kurapika said exasperatedly as she rubbed some ointment on her daughter's burns on her left hand. The little girl winced a little and tried to endure the pain. "Next time, don't let Krisu in the kitchen with you."

Karin nodded slowly. Kurapika had refused to use her Holy chain on her daughter so that the girl would know what it feels like when getting into a minor accident. She can't spoil the kids all the time and she will only heal major injuries in them. If the twins get too dependent on her Holy chain's ability, they will probably not stop doing the things they did that gave them such injuries.

It's evening of the third day of Kuroro's absence and the twins wanted to cook something for their father because he called the other day, telling them that he would be home tonight. Unfortunately, Kurapika didn't know about their plan because if she did, the blonde will not have any second thoughts and just stop them.

Karin is a very good cook and she loved baking, but that doesn't mean she can cook proper meals now. Now, Krisu is the person whom Kurapika the most against of when it comes to cooking. It seems like the boy inherited her lack of cooking skills, too. Kurapika remembered the second phase of the Hunters' examination, where they were asked to cook sushi and it was an epic failure for her.

"Now, go change your clothes. Your Papa will be home soon." Kurapika ordered and gave the girl a gentle kiss on her forehead. Karin giggled and nodded, running towards her room to change her dirty clothes.

Kurapika stood up from her seat and put away the ointment inside a drawer. She then walked out of the room she shared with Kuroro and headed downstairs to check on her son. She saw him running towards the entrance door of the mansion, jumping gleefully as he practically threw himself on another figure approaching the boy. Kurapika smiled to herself as she also walked downstairs to greet Kuroro.

"Daddy!" Krisu exclaimed and his father carried him. Kuroro looked at Krisu and furrowed his eyebrows.

"What happened to you?" he asked and removed some sort of noodle from the boy's hair.

"Karin and I tried cooking!" the boy said, explaining the origin of the pasta on his neck and shirt. "Ne, Daddy, did you bring me a chameleon?" he asked hopefully and Kuroro chuckled.

"Of course, it's in my car." He whispered to the boy's ear and Krisu laughed then wriggled out of his father's embrace to head towards the garage.

Then, Kuroro turned his attention to the approaching Kurapika and smiled to himself. "Miss me?" he asked playfully and the blonde rolled her eyes.

"The twins tried cooking your dinner." She said and the man laughed lightly.

"They did?"

"Papa!" Karin suddenly called out and ran downstairs, her clothes now clean and fresh.

Kuroro kneeled down and the girl also threw herself at him, hugging his neck tightly. Kurapika watched with a light smile on her face. She was glad that Karin is now getting accustomed to her father, but it still worried her that the two had unmistakably the same personalities, considering the choice of Hatsu Karin wanted. She just hoped that Karin will use her ability in doing good deeds like what she promised.

"Go to your brother he's in the garage." Kuroro said and the girl nodded, knowing that Kuroro also bought something for her too.

Kurapika could only sigh in defeat. No matter how much she would tell him to stop spoiling the twins, Kuroro barely listens. The man stood up and faced the blonde.

"You're giving them early Christmas gifts." The blonde said in a flat tone and Kuroro only chuckled.

"Would you like yours now?" he asked, earning a confused look in return.

"My gift?" she asked and Kuroro strode towards her. His luggage had been brought back to their room by the maids. Everything is settled inside their room now, except for a certain brown box that he carried with him.

"That's right. Your gift." He whispered and held the brown box up for her to see. "For you." Kuroro said with a tender smile on his face.

"What's this?" the blonde asked and took the box from him.

"Open it."

The Kuruta looked at him then back to the box. She then started tearing the brown paper that covered it and when finished, the tem was revealed to be a wooden box. She removed the top cover and pulled out what's inside it.

She suddenly gasped. "It's-." Kurapika was not able to finish her words and just stared at the item she's holding. The woman bit her lower lip and continued looking at the relic on her hands. She can't believe it.

"The last pair." Kuroro whispered and she looked at him.

Kurapika smiled. "Thank you." She replied and the man suddenly leaned forward and captured her lips swiftly.

"Come with me." He said when he pulled back and the Kuruta, flushing in a brilliant shade of red, found herself nodding. Kuroro took her hand and the two of them walked upstairs, heading towards the man's study room. Kurapika is still carrying the scarlet eyes as they walked.

Upon arriving, Kuroro stood in front of his large book shelf and looked for a certain book. When he found it, he smiled to himself and then pushed the said book. Kurapika watched in shock when the shelf suddenly slid to the right, revealing a hidden white door behind it.

"A secret room?" she asked and the man nodded.

"I had it installed many years ago." He explained and turned the knob of the door, pushing it open. Together with Kurapika, Kuroro entered the room and turned the lights on. It revealed a white room, housing many sturdy shelves.

But what capture the blonde's attention is not the shelves but what's inside them; more cylindrical glasses with a pair of scarlet eyes in them. Kurapika can't help but roam her eyes around. Her heart beat rapidly inside her chest as the emotions once again swirled inside her, creating some sort of tornado. She counted the eyes inside her head silently.

_33..._

_34..._

_35..._

Then, she looked at the scarlet eyes she's carrying. "36 pairs." Kurapika whispered and bit her lower lip. "They're complete." She strode towards one shelf with an empty space and put the last pair on it. Then, she back away and looked at the complete set of her people's eyes.

"Sorry. It took a lot of time than expected. Some of the owners of the eyes were too stubborn so we resorted to stealing it." Kuroro said and looked at her. By 'we', he meant him and the Spiders. His eyes widened a little when he saw pearly tears streaming down her cheeks. "Kurapika." He called out gently and pulled her closer to him, embracing her tightly. The blonde also hugged him back and sobbed on his shoulder.

Kurapika couldn't thank him enough. When she gave birth to the twins seven years ago, she abandoned her mission of retrieving her clan's eyes and focused herself in becoming a mother to the kids. Although Kuroro is the one who lead the massacre, she had forgiven him many years ago now. But the blonde didn't think that Kuroro would do something like this. He was trying to return everything he had taken away from her. Without even telling him, the man knew what she wanted.

"Thank you so much." She whispered and tightened her hug.

Kuroro stroke her blonde hair and waited for her to calm down. When her sobs died down he pulled back and looked straight to her eyes, which turned scarlet some time. As expected, her eyes are the most beautiful ones he had seen compared to the 36 pairs that are sitting right inside this room.

"We should go back now. The kids might be looking for us." Kuroro suggested and Kurapika nodded slowly. His hands cupped her face gently and he gave her another chaste kiss, which the blonde responded to as the kiss went deeper. The man pulled back, his breathing ragged. "Remember this, Kurapika. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

Kurapika blushed again and Kuroro smiled. He took her hand once more and the two walked out of the secret room to go and eat dinner.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Krisu had been very talkative about what happened in the kitchen with his sister. He narrated how he added an unknown ingredient in their experimental cooking, which caused a large amount of smoke to come out of the pot. Then, the boy admitted that he accidentally spilled hot water, which scattered on Karin's left hand.

Kuroro looked at his little girl's left hand and saw the burn. Kurapika then told Karin that it will definitely leave a scar, and she scolded Krisu for his carelessness. Krisu looked at his father for back up but Kuroro only chuckled and decided not to interfere.

After dinner, the kids decided to retreat to their room. Krisu wanted to tend on his pets and his chameleon while Karin wanted to play with her new chemistry set. Both Kurapika and Kuroro also went to their room to rest and discuss about what they will do to the scarlet eyes. The issue about the robbery in the company was also discussed.

"So far, the ten billion did not move." Kurapika said as she sat on the bed while looking at Kuroro's laptop, which she had been using for the past three days.

"So, your suspicion might be correct." Kuroro replied and sat down beside her. The two had just finished showering and are now very refreshed. He looked at his laptop with a smile. "Now that I've thought about it, why not use your dowsing chain in knowing the culprit? You've used that before, right?" he asked and Kurapika nodded, remembering the time when she used the Dowsing chain in determining that Squala was the other spy when she was applying for a job in Nostrad.

"But it's harder. If the culprit really is someone within the company, I had to point my Dowsing chain at each of them, which will be exhausting and a waste of nen." The blonde explained. "And besides, the Dowsing chain is really used for locating a person or an object. To locate the culprit, I must know what he or she looks like and I would need a map or blueprints."

"I see." Kuroro nodded understandingly and changed the subject. "So, any idea on what you should do to the scarlet eyes?" he asked and the blonde nodded.

"I could go back to Rukuso village and bury them there with my clan's bodies." She replied and sighed. "Or I could let them stay here where it would be safe."

"I think the former is much better." He suggested and lied down on the bed. He raised his hand and combed the Kuruta's hair.

"Do you like my hair that much?" Kurapika asked, closed the laptop and put it on the side table.

"It's soft." The man whispered smoothly and she smiled. Kurapika also lied down and looked at him.

"So, the business you have in York Sin is about the eyes." The blonde said as Kuroro continued combing her hair. "Thanks."

"You've thanked me enough now." The Spider head replied and put his arm around her waist, pulling her a little closer. Kurapika responded by snuggling her face to his chest, inhaling his masculine scent. She unexpectedly flushed when Kuroro suddenly whispered something to her. "I want to make love to you tonight."

The blonde pulled back a little to look at his eyes and Kuroro laughed. "I'm just kidding." He said with a playful smile. "Let's sleep n-."

But he was suddenly interrupted when Kurapika had pushed herself up a little and pressed her lips to his own. She then pulled back with a smirk on her face. She got her _revenge_ now from three days ago.

"That was a wrong move, Kurapika." Kuroro replied mischievously and suddenly, with a slight twist of his body, Kurapika found herself being pinned down on the bed, with the man on top of her.

"Uh... Kuroro." She gulped soundlessly.

"Really, that was a wrong move." He bent down and landed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Kurapika shivered a little. "But I won't do it if you don't want to."

"Did you lock the door?" the Kuruta replied indirectly and Kuroro smiled.

"Of course." Then, he bent down once again to take her lips. When he pulled back, Kurapika was flushing greatly. "Don't you want to do this after our wedding?" he asked once again.

Kurapika groaned irritatingly. "Truth to tell, we're already married." She replied, earning a confused look from her lover.

"Already married?" he asked, still hovering on top of her.

"In Kurutan culture." She explained. "When we carved our names in the Unification Tree, it meant that we're already one. The wedding ceremony after that is just another formality to announce that the couple are married."

"So, you're saying that we have been married since seven years ago?"

When the Kuruta nodded lightly, Kuroro can't help but chuckle. "You should have told me a little sooner, then, I wouldn't be holding myself back like this."

He kissed her again slowly and removed his grip around her wrists, running his hand through her hair. Kurapika immediately snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the sweet, passionate kiss. Kuroro then slid his tongued inside her, tasting and exploring her cavern expertly. They only pulled back to breath but then resumed their intimate touches instantly.

So, he has been holding back the whole time?

His hand crawled underneath her shirt and he pulled it roughly, tearing the cloth. Kuroro then broke their kiss, only to take off his off shirt to free his aching body. In a matter of seconds, their garments were scattered on the floor, not caring where they had landed.

Kurapika gasped when the man went lower and licked her neck then planted light kisses on her skin. The man kissed the skin behind her ear then trailed his lip down to her chest. Kurapika can't help but moan in pleasure. It has been a long time since they last did this. She missed him so much, the feeling of his skin against hers, the taste of his lips, and the pleasure his fingers would give when they touch every part of her. Kuroro brought his face back to hers and kissed her lips again, sending her body reeling.

"My, you're so beautiful." He whispered against her skin and Kurapika blushed furiously, even though her face had been red from the very start.

Kuroro really can't get enough of her. He wanted to touch her so much but he just resorted to kissing and embracing her lovingly, thinking that she would want it after their wedding. Ever since they separated, he had never laid his eyes on any woman or thought about having a relationship with someone else to satisfy his sexual desires. Only Kurapika, only her and no one else. He wanted her badly.

He trailed kisses on her chest and she gave out a throaty moan. Kuroro bit on her skin, leaving purplish marks on it.

"Kuroro." The woman gasped and he moved upwards to look at her. Kurapika's eyes had a shade of red that were swirling with emotions that he could practically see. "I love you."

Surprised, Kuroro stared at her eyes for a while before smiling tenderly. "I love you, too." He whispered huskily and sealed her lips once more in a deeper and more passionate kiss. She also touched him, exploring his firm body that only she was allowed to see and feel. She could hear him groan before breaking their kiss.

The man finally entered inside her and Kurapika arched her back. She clung to his back, burying her nails on his skin. Kuroro dug deeper into her and she let out a gasp, drowned in a sea pleasure that the man is giving her. She wound her arms around him and pulled him closer, liking his scent and his body, and clinging to him tightly as if afraid to let go and see him disappear. Unknown to her, Kuroro was feeling the same.

If true love exists, the relationship these two have is the most perfect example. Despite their past and the things they have been through, despite the people against them and the challenges they have overcome, they're still together, believing that fate is not the one controlling their lives but the decisions they made during the journey.

The night grew deeper and darker as the two lovers enjoyed each other's company. They left the worries and just focused at each other, giving and receiving the attention that their desires had been demanding them.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"I have been thinking." Kuroro whispered huskily and took the Kuruta's left hand, wearing the engagement ring that he himself gave her.

"Hmmm?" Kurapika hummed as she snuggled closer to his body. The man had his arm around her, embracing her tightly.

The two are still up even after their exhausting activity a few hours ago. They sat up and leaned their back on the headboard, talking about trivial thing that ranges from Kuroro's day to day living to Kurapika's books. Their bodies are still bare, covered underneath by their comforter, but they didn't feel uncomfortable with that state.

"Don't you want someone to walk you down the aisle during our wedding?" the raven-haired man asked and Kurapika chuckled a little. He then kissed the ring on her finger tenderly and intertwined his fingers with hers.

"We haven't even decided when the wedding should be." She replied and closed her eyes, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Right. But still, seven years is a very long time, Kurapika. Kairo would love to see you getting married to the person whom you originally hate." He chuckled too.

The blonde grunted annoyingly. "My uncle..." she paused and sighed. "... I want to see him."

"Have you forgiven him?"

"I don't know. Maybe seeing him will help me decide."

"Let's look for him then." Kuroro suggested and Kurapika opened her eyes to look at him. Despite the darkness, she can still see his face because of the illumination from the moon's rays. "Just the two of us. We'll travel like the old times and find him. Then, you should give him an invitation to our wedding."

She smiled. "Sounds good." Kurapika replied. "But how about the twins?"

"They'll understand. And besides, Yuri and Eri are there. They will protect Karin and Krisu." The man replied as he assured her. "We'll find Kairo before Christmas, trust me."

"I do trust you." the blonde stated with all honesty and Kuroro can help but kiss her lips again.

"Let's get some sleep now." He said and the two slipped completely inside their comforter, drifting off to sleep. Kuroro had snaked his arm around her waist possessively, reassuring Kurapika in some ways that the blonde can't describe.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ne, Karin, Mommy and Daddy are not awake yet?" Krisu asked the next day, during his afternoon nen practice with his sister.

Karin yawned a little before replying. "They always sleep late so it's natural that they wake up late, too."

"But it's the first time they woke up very very very late." Krisu insisted and stood up. "Let's go see if they're still sleeping."

"You will be disturbing them." His sister angrily replied and pulled back the boy."

Just then, they saw something move by the bushes. The twins stood up and curiously walked towards the said bushes. Suddenly, a fluffy white thing jumped up, surprising the two of them. Karin stumbled down on the ground, followed by Krisu.

"Eh?" the boy said to himself as he rubbed his bottom. "It's just Max!" he exclaimed and stood up, dusting his blue shirt, then tried to catch his puppy. But Max backed away a little before bolting towards the forest.

"Max! Wait!" Krisu yelled and followed his pet.

"Krisu! Not in there!" Karin also shouted and stood up to go after her brother.

Max ran in different directions, often going through difficult paths that forced twins to either cut off twigs that are on their way or jump over fallen branches. Since the two have lived and played inside a forest for many years, they had no problems, especially now that they have learned nen.

"Max, come back!" Krisu yelled as he swatted away another low tree branch.

"Krisu!" Karin called out to her stubborn brother.

The two finally slowed down to a stop when the puppy also halted. Not far away from where the puppy is, a hooded man was standing, his back facing them. Then, Max ran towards the guy and he turned around, kneeled down, and caught the puppy.

"Hello there, little fella." The man chuckled. "I see you're back for more." He fished out something from one of his pockets and gave it to Max. The puppy happily received the snack from him and it chewed the food hastily.

"Ano..." Krisu said and the man looked up. Karin immediately pulled back her brother and stood in between the stranger and him, dropping into a protective stance.

"Hello, kids. Is this your puppy?" the man asked and Karin tried to see who he is underneath the hood. Unfortunately, the stranger managed to cover his face further by lowering his hood.

"That's Max!" Krisu replied and his sister glared at him.

"Don't talk to strangers, Krisu!" she scolded him and then heard the said stranger chuckle.

"Krisu?" the man asked and the little boy nodded. Then, he turned to the little blonde. "And I assume you're Karin?"

"How did you-." The little girl trailed off as the man chuckled again.

"You really look like your mother, but with your father's personality. Very protective." He said and looked at Krisu. "And you look like your father, but is very reckless. Just like Kurapika."

Krisu gasped. "You know our parents? You must be a friend!" he attempted to go to the man but Karin managed to grab him back.

"You really are careless!" Karin scolded once again.

The man chuckled for the nth time and walked towards the kids with the puppy in his arms. Karin backed away but Krisu remained standing, looking fascinated by the man.

"Here's your puppy." He kneeled down on the ground and put the pet down.

"Thanks." Krisu replied and walked towards the man to get Max.

"Krisu!"

"Come on, Karin. I feel like he's not a bad guy!" Krisu whined to his sister and, trusting his instincts, turned to the man. He can see half of his face smiling tenderly. "Would you like to see my mom and dad?"

"Ah. I would love to, but I think your mom wouldn't be so happy to see me." He replied and stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Eh why?" the boy asked and the stranger ruffled his hair.

"Because I did something very wrong to her."

"What is it?" It was Karin who asked this time, her voice serious and a little demanding.

Suddenly, they heard a couple of shouts not far away from them, calling their names. The twins turned around to see who it was, and realized that those voices belonged to Yuri and Eri.

"Over here!" Krisu yelled back and turned back to look at the man. "Ne, my mom- Eh?" but to his dismay, the kind stranger mysteriously disappeared and he frowned.

"He's gone." Karin whispered to herself. "So fast." Then, a figure appeared from behind the trees and the siblings tensed up.

"Krisu, Karin!" Eri yelled in relief when he found the twins and he approached them. "Didn't I say that you two should stay in the garden?" the onii-san scolded them.

"Sorry."

With a sigh, Eri nodded. "Let's go back." Then, he turned around. "Yuri, I found them!"

The three of them walked back to the Gushiken Manor, with Karin telling Krisu that she will definitely tell their parents about this once they wake up. But Krisu's mind was not on what his sister is saying but on the kind stranger they met.

Should he tell his mom and dad about him?

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** _So... I've decided to make a new account and upload Yaoi stories there, mainly about KuroKura couple. I'll tell you when the account will be ready since I'm still writing the plot of my new Yaoi story. Thanks! Oh em! Another love scene! Well, I think the couple deserves it after seven years. After all, they only did it twice (and now thrice). Please read and review! _

**Next:** _Kuroro and Kurapika decide to travel and find Kairo to complete their family. They leave the problems in the company for a while to focus in their search. What surprises will await them during their adventure together? And who was that kind stranger that the twins met?_


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 11

The Search for Kairo Part 1: Fears and Desires

Kurapika sat silently inside her private study room, waiting for Kuroro to come back. The blonde vaguely wondered whether what they're going to do is the right thing. The last time she ever saw her Uncle Kairo was when she was still in a hospital, when she angrily told him to disappear from her life.

What an irony.

To think that she's soon embarking on a journey to find him when she's practically the reason why he left in the first place. But now is not the right time to think how ironic things are. Her priority is to find him before Christmas. She wanted him to see the twins, to see his precious grandchildren, happily playing with him, and she's sure that Krisu and Karin wanted the same thing.

A sigh escaped her lips as Kurapika leaned her back on the couch. Then, the doors clicked open and Kuroro entered the room, carrying with him a map. He settled himself on a couch opposite her and spread the map on the coffee table. It turned out to be a world map.

"Do you think it will work?" Kurapika asked with uncertainty in her voice.

"Only one way to find out." Kuroro replied and the blonde nodded. She summoned her chains and called out the Dowsing Chain.

The Kuruta closed her eyes, meticulously visualizing Kairo Bethel's facial feature inside her head. She recalled his bright blond hair, his deep ocean eyes, his carefree smile that he would always wear, his prominent nose, the complexion of his skin, and the switching of his eyes from blue to scarlet. She visualized all of those until a clear image was formed. The image was transported as nen to the Dowsing chain, making it swing back and forth as it hovered on top of the world map.

Kurapika opened her eyes and let her Dowsing Chain flit around at different places in the map. Until such time that the chain stopped swinging on a certain name of a familiar place.

"Norsalle?" Kuroro asked himself, remembering that Norsalle is the place where he and Kurapika had their second encounter.

"He's in Norsalle." The blonde whispered. But then, the chain started moving erratically, confusing the two nen users. Suddenly, realization struck on Kuroro as he watched the Dowsing Chain shake a little, as if the thing was puzzled.

"It's not Norsalle." He declared with sureness in his voice and Kurapika looked at him. He then stared back at the Kuruta.

"Then where?" she asked.

"It's Ryuusegai." The Spider head replied and the word seemed like a curse to Kurapika. That place did not really hold very good memories for her. It's definitely an irony. Ryuusegai is the place where she found out the truth about her clan's massacre and now, Kairo is there?

"How would you know?" she asked, hoping that his deduction is incorrect. Ryuusegai cannot be seen in the official world map since the existence of the city itself is only known to a very few people.

"Ryuusegai is not far away from Norsalle. And besides, don't you think that place makes more sense? Markuss-san and Kairo are friends." The man explained.

"Markuss-san?"

"The Ryuusegai Council Head."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot." Kurapika said in a low voice.

"So, do you still want to go there?" Kuroro asked as the blonde withdrew her hand and let her chains disappear.

"We talked about this. I'll find him no matter what." She replied sternly.

With a smiled, Kuroro leaned forwards and took the map, rolling it once again. Then, he stood up. "We'll start the search right now. Jo can teleport us there easily, saving us a lot of time."

Kurapika nodded and stood up, walking out of her study room to talk to her twins. Actually, she already told them that she and their father will be gone for a few days. As usual, they didn't seem to mind. They're already used to their absence but sometimes, Kurapika could see that they're holding back a little.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

That early afternoon, everything was ready. Both Kurapika and Kuroro are already prepared for their journey. Karin and Krisu just watched as their parents talked to Jo about teleporting them to Ryuusegai. The two were told that they will go and get their grandpa so that he can spend Christmas with them. Of course, the twins were very excited at the thought of finally meeting their dear Grandpa Kairo, and they're sure that they will have the Christmas of their lives.

"Mom, Dad?" Krisu called out when both Kurapika and Kuroro finished talking to Jo. "When will you be coming back?" the little boy asked and Kurapika looked down on her son.

"Don't worry. It might just take us a little time." _I hope,_ the blonde added inside her head.

Krisu smiled. "Yesterday, Karin and I saw a kind stranger." He informed. "He knows you two."

Kuroro looked at his daughter and the little blonde nodded.

"Krisu asked him whether he wants to see you two but he seems very unsure." Karin said. "He told us that he did something very wrong to Mama."

"Me?" Kurapika asked, looking a little confused.

"What does he look like?" Kuroro questioned his daughter but the girl only shook her head.

"We didn't see him properly because he's wearing a dark hood." She explained.

"Where did you meet him?"

"At the forest." Krisu answered this time. Kuroro glanced at Kurapika and he saw her taking it very seriously.

"Kurapika." He called out and the blonde visibly flinched. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine." She replied almost tonelessly, her shoulders slightly slumping. The kids also looked at their mother worriedly, assuming that what they said must have affected her in some way.

True, it did affect Kurapika. If there's one person who did something _very wrong_, that would be _him_. But what would he be doing here? And how did he manage to slip through the tight security around the mountain? That's almost an impossible feat considering the fact that the whole area is packed with CCTV cameras and guards.

Wait, they can check the CCTV monitors to see who that person was. Maybe her hunch is correct.

"It's time." Kuroro suddenly announced and the blonde nodded understandingly.

Before they entered Jo's teleportation barrier, Krisu and Karin both promised to always behave themselves, not to talk to strangers once again, and to not get out of the manor no matter what the reason may be. Kurapika hugged her twins while Kuroro only ruffled his son's hair and gave his daughter a gentle peck on her cheek. Then, they went inside the barrier, and disappeared almost instantly, heading towards Ryuusegai.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The place did not change much since the last time they were here. It's still the world's dumping site and its inhabitants are no different. They still continue scavenging over heaps of garbage and wastes. Kurapika wrinkled her nose as she smelled the stench. Kuroro looked relaxed as always, his hands shoved inside his pockets and eyes looking straight down the path. Jo, after teleporting them here, returned to the Gushiken Manor to resume his duties there.

They arrived in front of the unchanged Council building and Kurapika almost halted. She's unsure of what to do. It has been so many years after her Uncle left. If ever she does find him here, what should she say to him? Should he tell him that she wants him back? But what if she'll get so angry upon seeing him?

As always, so many questions yet no answers.

Kuroro must have felt her hesitance so he took her hand and gave it a tight squeeze, as if encouraging her and saying that everything will be okay. The blonde looked at him and he nodded, smiling tenderly at her. Then, the two stepped inside the Council building. What greeted them are the usual happenings inside it. It was no longer very chaotic like the last time they visited. Inside, Kurapika can see familiar faces like Mr. Yuan and there are no guards stationed everywhere around the place.

But where is her Uncle Kairo?

"Let's go." Kurapika heard Kuroro whisper to her and she nodded, and then followed him through the meeting room of the Council members, where they can possibly find the Council Head.

They entered the room, ignoring the looks of the other Council members were giving them, and found it almost empty, except for an old man sitting at the middle of a semi-circle table. The said old man looked up and smiled at the two of them casually, his eyes glinting mysteriously.

"Welcome, Kuroro." He said with a smile and turned to the blonde. "And you must be Kurapika." Kurapika nodded and looked at Kuroro, confused on how the old man knew her name.

"He has eyes and ears everywhere." Kuroro explained, answering her unspoken question and he sighed. "It has been a while, Markuss-san."

"_So he is the Council Head of Ryuusegai."_ Kurapika thought to herself. _"This is my first time meeting him"_ she added.

"That's right, Kurapika. I am the Council Head of this city." Markuss said, shocking the Kuruta. "And nice to meet you, too."

"How-."

"He has mind-reading abilities." Kuroro explained once again. "You better go in your Zetsu mode if you don't want him to read your head." He said and the Kuruta relented, feeling irked at the thought that someone can invade her thoughts without her permission.

"Now, if you're here for Kairo then I must tell you that he's not here." Markuss stated, still smiling. Kurapika furrowed her eyebrows. He must have read her thoughts when she first entered the room. "But he left this. It seems like he knew that you two will be coming here to get him."

"He was here?" Kurapika asked and Markuss nodded as he stood up.

"He left just this morning."

"Then, he couldn't have gone that far." Kuroro whispered to himself, which Kurapika heard.

"I suggest that you don't chase after him. He's already very far. Here." Markuss countered and held out his hand, holding a white paper to Kurapika. "This is what he left for you."

Kurapika took the paper and looked at Markuss. "He knew we'll be coming? But how come?"

"It might be one of the Elite Seven who told him." Kuroro could only chuckle lightly at the thought. Kairo Bethel is the same as always; full of surprises.

Kurapika understood it. She knew her Uncle. Kairo is very caring when it comes to her and even though she told him to disappear in her life seven years ago, she knew that he's watching over her secretly. And who else are the most suitable people to do that? No one but only the Elite Seven.

She looked at the white paper that was given to him by Markuss and read the contents. Kurapika furrowed her eyebrows and Kuroro also leaned towards her to read the paper. Then, he chuckled once again.

"This is not funny, Kuroro." Kurapika grumbled annoyingly.

"I know." He replied as he took the paper from her and reread it.

_When young, I am sweet in the sun.__  
__When middle-aged, I make you gay.__  
__When old, I am valued more than ever._

_What am I?_

"A riddle. He wants us to answer a riddle?" Kurapika sat on one of the empty chairs, annoyed once again with her uncle. Kairo is certainly being childish again even after all these years.

"Kairo said that if you want to find him, you must answer the riddle for it will point to his next location." Markuss explained despite knowing that the two already got the answer. As expected of the Spider head and the Bethel heiress.

"Wine." The Spider head suddenly stated and he put the paper down, in front of the blonde. "The answer is wine."

Kurapika looked at him them back to the paper. She remembered that Kuroro is kind of an enthusiast when it comes to wines. She once saw his wine table in his office that is filled with many bottles of 30-year old wines. Her eyes suddenly widened as she read the riddle once again.

_When young, I am sweet in the sun._

When wines are in their early age, they seem very sweet since the yeast that is used to ferment them has not fully consumed the sugar in the grapes.

_When middle-aged, I make you gay._

However, when wines are middle-aged, they have small residual sugars, making it enjoyable to drink.

_When old, I am valued more than ever._

But older bottles of wine are very expensive and more valued compared to younger ones.

_What am I?_

It fits the riddle perfectly! Kuroro was right. The answer is _wine_.

"Wine." Kurapika whispered and took out a map from her bag. "The wine capital of the world is Ladenburg City." She said and pointed at a certain dot on the map.

"Now I remember. We have a wine business there, too." Kuroro said and also remembered that their engagement party was also held in the Ladenburg Mansion seven years ago. "Kurapika, is Kairo a nen user?" he asked and the blonde nodded.

"Of course. I just haven't seen his real abilities yet."

"What type is he in?"

"He's also a specialist." Then, Kurapika remembered two abilities that her Uncle used on her a long time ago when they trained. One was when Kairo had opened a portal out of thin air and he entered it then disappeared. The other was his ability to alter geologic materials like the earth, the rocks, and even mountains. Those two were frightening nen abilities and she's sure that her uncle has more skills that he's hiding.

"A specialist." Kuroro muttered under his breath. "It will be a problem. He could have any kind of ability with no specifications."

"Oh, by the way, Kairo asked that you two don't request any help from anyone. Rely on your own abilities in finding him." Markuss said and then walked out of the room, an even smile still gracing his old features.

When they were left alone, Kurapika openly frowned. "Uncle is playing with us." She said and stood up. "So I'm definitely going to find him." Her words were filled with determination that Kuroro can't help but smile proudly at her. She clenched her fists and grabbed back the map and the white paper.

"Let's hurry to Ladenburg then." Kuroro responded and together with her, they walked out of the room, heading to the wine capital of the world.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The outskirts of Ryuusegai is a vast desert that will take at least one day to cross by foot and 30 minutes by car before reaching the nearest city, Norsalle. There, they can get plane tickets heading to Ladenburg City. Kuroro, being a practical person, had decided to use his teleportation skill so they can reach the city in an instant. Although Kurapika was a little against it, because of the fact that it will drain his aura faster, she agreed in the end if she wanted to reach Ladenburg as quickly as they can.

However, when they reached the place where the city was supposed to be, they were greeted by a very big forest instead. Kurapika furrowed her eyebrows in bewilderment as she pulled out her map and looked at the Norsalle City on it.

"We're here but..." she paused and looked around. "... we're also not here." Well, that doesn't make any sense.

Kuroro silently touched one tree and his eyes narrowed. "The trees are not made with nen like I expected."

"You mean they're real?" the blonde pulled one fresh leaf from a bush nearby. "True, they were not materialized." Then, she tore the leaf and threw it at her side.

"Something is not right." The Spider head concluded and suddenly heard Kurapika gasp. He spun on his heels and looked at her.

"Terrakinesis." She said and Kuroro stared at her, puzzled. "It's one of Uncle Kairo's abilities. He can alter the surroundings, like its terrain. He must have altered the desert and created a forest in front of Norsalle City." The Kuruta explained and roamed her eyes around the forest.

"Kairo put this whole forest in here?" he asked almost unbelievably. It's almost impossible for one nen user to do something like this, not even himself. Even Coltopi, an excellent materialization type, can't materialize a whole forest like this and make it look very real. Kairo must really be a very powerful nen user, maybe even more powerful than him.

"This is getting stupid, Kuroro. It will take us one more day before crossing this woodland. And who knows what's waiting for us inside." Kurapika said exasperatedly as she put the map inside her bag. She remembered her journey through the Numere wetlands during the Hunter's Examinations. That wasn't a very good memory since many mythological creatures tried killing them.

"Don't tell me you're giving up." Kuroro teased, making the Kuruta more annoyed.

"No, I'm not." She replied and immediately stepped inside the entrance of the forest, followed by Kuroro.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The forest is just like any forest. However, what irked Kurapika is the fact that a purple mist is starting to thicken as they went deeper into the woods. The blonde looked around warily and noticed small animals silently observing them from afar. Kuroro also noticed them, but decided to stay calm as always. The animals, whether mythical or normal ones, won't do anything to them as long as they don't pose like threats.

The two felt like they reached the middle of the forest when the purple mist completely blocked their view, not allowing them to see the way. Kurapika can't help but raise her guard when they stopped on their tracks. Then, she noted the change in Kuroro's nen, he goes into Zetsu then summons back his aura. He did that for a while but the blonde did not bother asking him.

"There's something out there." She whispered and Kuroro readied himself.

The bushes on their left side shifted slightly and the Kuruta materialized her usual twin swords while Kuroro took out some of his needles. They waited patiently, knowing that making the first move in a foreign place is reckless and possibly dangerous. But when nothing appeared, the two relaxed a little.

"Now, we should find a way of clearing this fog." Kuroro said and summoned his Skill book, flipped its pages as he looked for a suitable skill to use.

"Kurapika." A familiar voice suddenly called out and the couple turned their heads back to the bushes.

They saw a broad silhouette and when the mist cleared a little, Kurapika's eyes widened slightly when the form of a man with blond hair and blue eyes greeted them. He's wearing that innocuous smile that made the blonde freeze a little. She tightened her grip on her twin swords as he watched the man hold out his hand to her.

"Uncle..." Kurapika trailed off.

"Kurapika..." another voice called out and she turned to her right and saw Kairo again, his hands held out.

"Come with me..." Kairo said and stepped back a little. "Follow me..."

The Kuruta shook her clouding head and Kuroro held her hand tightly. "That's not Kairo." He said and quickly threw a needle at the figure. It did not give 'Kairo' enough time to dodge and the needle hit his stomach. The impostor let out an ear-piercing shriek, making Kuroro and Kurapika cover their ears. When they looked up, the impostor was already running away.

Kuroro immediately threw another needle, aiming for its head. He hit it perfectly and the impostor's body fell on the ground, lifeless. Then, Kurapika noticed a long tail behind the body that looked like a monkey's tail.

"A man-faced ape?" she asked for confirmation and Kuroro nodded.

"I understand now." He said and Kurapika looked at him.

"Understand what?"

"This forest... everything in it is connected with each other." Kuroro explained and looked around. "This purple mist... has hallucinating properties. You didn't notice it, did you?" he asked her and the Kuruta nodded. "The mist only activates its hallucination when we use nen." Then, Kurapika's eyes widened in realization. It's just like Markuss mind-reading abilities. He can't read someone's head if he or she doesn't use nen.

"So that's why you've been going into Zetsu and then back to Ten."

"That's right. I was checking if my deduction is correct. Every time I use Ten, I see different images around us, mostly images of people I know. You did not see anything since you were in your Zetsu mode all this time until you materialized your swords." He said and looked around. "This mist works by making you hallucinate your desires and fears."

"When you said that everything here is connected, does that mean that..."

"Yes, the creatures here can connect with the mist. They can see our hallucinations and they use it to their advantage." Kuroro took out more needles. "That man-faced ape used Kairo's image to lure you into his trap."

"As if I'm going to fall for that petty trick." The Kuruta grunted and Kuroro can't help but smile amusingly. Kurapika had read about mists that can make you hallucinate but not about forests that can connect itself to every creature inside it. She could make a research about it and then write a book some day.

"Kairo sure is very tricky."

"He's trying to get us killed." Kurapika gritted her teeth but then sighed. "We just have to be in our Zetsu then."

"I don't think so." Kuroro said and Kurapika immediately understood it. She saw, not far away from them, many pairs of glowing eyes with bodies hidden in the darkness.

Kurapika gripped her twin swords, readying herself for an impending fight. Kuroro had open his Skill book once again and already went to the page of the Skill he wanted. They both ignored the hallucinations and voices around them. Only a nen user with a weak resolve will fall into the mist's trap, but they're both very determined and thus, are not affected by the trick.

The glowing eyes drew nearer and the owners of those eyes turned out to be man-faced apes, with faces of the people they saw in their hallucinations. There's one ape with Karin's face, another with Krisu, and one ape with Kairo's image. Gritting her teeth in anger, Kurapika dematerialized her swords and summoned her chains instead. The shriek of the ape that Kuroro killed a moment ago must have called the attention of the rest of them.

When one ape lunged forward, the battle began. Kurapika used her Dowsing chain, hitting the creatures hard and knocking them out. Meanwhile, Kuroro used his fireball skill once and then resorted to using the rest of his needles. The two jumped into high branches of trees and the apes followed them. The mist even became thicker as the two moved forward, looking for the exit. There were so many of them that it's almost impossible to shake them off their tracks.

"Damn it." Kurapika cursed and threw her chain again, hitting three apes at the same time. Then, she suddenly noticed the lack of Kuroro's presence. "Kuroro!" she called out but there was no answer. But not far away from her, she saw a light flickering and the Kururta realized that it was Kuroro's fireball ability, signalling her of his location.

Kurapika's eyes turned bright scarlet to return his signal and almost instantly, the man saw the glowing orbs. Kuroro teleported to her location and the blonde noticed a claw-like scratch on his right cheek.

Ignoring it, they focused themselves on losing the hundreds of apes chasing them. Having enough of it, Kuroro used a skill he stole some years ago. He stopped on one branch and faced their pursuers, Kurapika also halted on a branch nearby and turned to look at him, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Stay back and close your eyes!" Kuroro ordered as he flipped the pages of his book. The angry apes were getting near now and the man stood his ground as a wisp-like aura appeared on his left hand. Kurapika obeyed and closed her eyes tightly. Then, she felt something very bright spread out, like a fluorescent lamp, and when the blonde opened her eyes once again, she saw the apes on the ground, lying limply.

Kurapika looked up and immediately went over to Kuroro's side when she saw him kneeling on the large branch, hand leaning on the tree to support his body, and panting a little.

"What skill was that?" the Kuruta asked when she reached him and helped him stand up.

"Paralyzing light." The man replied with an amused smile. He must have used up most of his nen when he used teleportation to get them across the outskirts of Ryuusegai and when he used his Paralyzing light skill.

"Alright, let's get out of here before those apes recover from paralysis." She said and Kuroro nodded. They jumped from one branch to another since the mist above them is very thin compared on the ground.

They kept on moving forward until they finally reached the forest's exit. Kurapika felt relieved when the sun's rays hit her skin, giving her its warmth. Not far away from them, they saw the main road to the entrance of Norsalle City and they ought to follow the road until they reach their destination. The blonde hoped that Kairo did not alter anymore places. However, Kurapika felt that something is bothering Kuroro. She can see disturbance in his obsidian eyes as they walked together.

"Hey." She called out and the man turned to look at her. "You're bleeding."

Kuroro's hand rose up and he touched the deep scratch on his face cause by one of the man-faced apes. He winced slightly and Kurapika sighed as she took out a white hanky from her bag then gave it to the man. Kuroro took it and wiped the blood trickling down his neck.

"You got yourself scratched. Unbelievable." The blonde 'tsked' and Kuroro chuckled amusedly.

"Right." He replied and folded the handkerchief.

"What did you see?"

"Hmmm?"

Kurapika halted on her tracks and so did the man. She faced her with a firm voice when she repeated her question. "Instead of 'what', I'll rephrase it. _Who_ did you see, Kuroro? Whose face did the ape that gave you that scratch used?"

Inside her head, she believed that Kuroro would come out unscathed in that chaos. A mere man-faced ape cannot possibly land a single hit on him considering the fact that he can easily dodge them. So he must have seen something, or rather someone that caused him to lose his focus for a bit.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kuroro replied and continued walking. But Kurapika grabbed is arm firmly to stop him again.

"I thought no more hiding of secrets between us, Kuroro." She said annoyingly. "If you don't want me to know, you just have to say it. Don't..." the blonde paused and sighed. "... shut me out like this."

"My father." Kuroro suddenly replied, making Kurapika loosen her grip on his arm. He turned around and returned her gaze. "One ape posed as my father." The man continued. "The man who threw me in Ryuusegai."

Kurapika didn't know what to say. She suddenly regretted asking him. "I-I see." She only said and let go of his arm completely. Now that she had thought about it, she's completely clueless of Kuroro's past and his family.

"Now that you know, let's just focus in finding Kairo." He said in his usual cold voice that the blonde heard for the first time in a long time.

The two continued on their way to Norsalle, quietly walking side by side. None of them engaged each other in a light conversation for each of them are lost in their own thoughts. Kurapika suddenly felt curious and interested in Kuroro's family while Kuroro opted to keep silent as he used nen to stop the bleeding on his cheek.

Kurapika stole a glance at the serious man and saw his obsidian eyes almost wavering. His face is donning a very stern expression but his dark eyes were telling a different tale. She vaguely wondered what kind of man Kuroro's father is.

Was he his _desire_... or _fear_?

When they finally reached the city, they immediately went towards the airport via taxi and bought the tickets for the first flight towards Ladenburg city, the world's wine capital.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** _I watched the Hunter X Hunter 1999 and 2011 series and realized that there are mythical creatures too so I included them. I was down with a light case of flu so I did nothing but watch Hunter X Hunter and update my facebook through my android phone. But I'm much better now. Kairo's abilities are not yet final for they will be explained in the future chapters. _

_Alright, I regret to say that __**Heartfelt**__ will be discontinued for a while since my schedule is getting packed for university matters. I'm going to college now and I want to finish Forced Beginnings first. I know I said that I don't want to leave my readers hanging so that is why I'm very sorry. T.T ... But it will only be for a while. Once everything gets settled, I'll continue Heartfelt and my planned Yaoi story. SORRY!_

_Please read and review! Thank you for all your reviews! It inspires me!_

**Next:** _Part 2. Kuroro and Kurapika finally arrived in Ladenburg City. What will they find there? What are Kairo's plans for these two? How come he knows every move they make and every step they take?_


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__ I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 12

The Search for Kairo Part 2: Wines and Arenas

The couple silently sat side by side during their flight, contemplating about their own thoughts. Somehow, when Kurapika tried to use her Dowsing chain to confirm her uncle's whereabouts, it acted funny and weird. Kuroro had deducted that Kairo must have used an unknown ability that prevented them from locating him easily.

They still have one more hour before the plane lands and the two opted to catch a few winks to recover some of their lost nen during their battle in the forest. Kuroro is sleeping soundly while Kurapika had a little trouble. She was still bothered by the events after they had gone out of the forest and escaped the man-faced apes. When Kuroro had spoken about his father, she can hear his voice tremble a little. What a very rare thing to happen knowing that he is the type of man who seems unaffected by everything around him.

Kurapika wanted to know more about him but why does she have the feeling that Kuroro will distance himself from her if she does? It's just a feeling but it cannot be ignored.

The blonde took out the white paper that Markuss gave them back there in Ryuusegai. She wondered whether her uncle would lead them into a wild goose chase after him. He likes games after all and he likes amusing himself with the expense of other people.

What a pain in the neck.

For the nth time, Kurapika closed her eyes and tried to succumb to drowsiness. She just hoped that she will be able to sleep properly this time.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

They arrived early in the morning at Ladenburg international airport and the two hurriedly took a taxi cab going to the Ladenburg Manor, but not before grabbing a quick breakfast in one of the fast foods around the airport. It has been a while since Kurapika returned here. She was never fond of visiting the different mansions they own around the world. The blonde vaguely wondered why her Uncle Kairo even had to make many mansions when no one would be living in them except for the servants responsible for their maintenance.

When the taxi pulled over in front of the large gates of the Ladenburg Mansion, both Kuroro and Kurapika immediately stepped out and were greeted by the servants. Kurapika furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Uncle Kairo must have told them we're coming." The blonde said as one butler approached them.

"Miss Kurapika and Sir Kuroro, welcome back to Ladenburg." The butler greeted them with a bow. "Please come this way. You two must be tired from your journey."

True, the couple are quite tired but their quick rest in the airplane did the trick. The two walked inside the mansion and noted that Ladenburg Manor is very different compared to Bethel and Gushiken Manor. It's more like a modern castle, with a wide, grassy front yard that is perfect for horse riding, a small game of golf, and large parties. Their engagement party was held here for that very reason.

At the backyard, a wide grape orchard can be seen where all the grapes needed for the Bethel wine business came from.

"Is my Uncle here?" Kurapika asked but the butler shook his head.

"He stopped here for a while, Miss and left at the same day." He replied.

Inside the mansion, they were greeted by hundreds of bottles of wines on the coffee tables, the shelves, and dining tables. Kuroro looked around in confusion, remembering that the last time he was here, the mansion was not in this state. He turned to the butler that was leading them.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked and Kurapika also looked at him, also perplexed by the sight. She had never seen so many wines accumulated in a single area in her entire life.

"It was Master Kairo's doing, Sir." The butler replied rather casually.

"What did he say?" Kurapika asked this time.

"He asked me to give this to you." The old butler took out the same white piece of paper from inside his inner coat pocket and gave it to the Kuruta. Kurapika took it from him, knowing that it's another clue to Kairo's next location. Kuroro on the other hand is already walking towards one table, examining one bottle on his hand.

The blonde turned her attention back to the paper on her hand and read its contents.

_A 20-year old bottle of Barbera Wine completes my day. _

_Find me one, will you?_

"Barbera wine?" she asked herself and looked up. Then, her eyes roamed around the hundreds of bottles around them. All of them have sticker labels with numbers but were arranged randomly.

"What did the note say?" Kuroro asked as he approached the blonde. Kurapika gave it for him to read and she saw an amused smirk forming on the man's lips.

"A _barbera wine_." He chuckled a little but the Kuruta can feel a little sarcasm in his voice. She sensed a little disappointment when he said the last two words. The man looked at her. "You don't drink, do you?" he asked and the blonde shook her head.

"I have low tolerance in alcohol." She shrugged and Kuroro nodded.

"So, we're supposed to find a 20-year old barbera wine."

"If we do find it, what will we get?" the blonde asked, hoping that it will contain the real clue to Kairo's next location.

Kuroro bent down in front of one table and took one bottle to his hand. He ordered the butler to go and get him wine glasses. When the butler arrived, he dismissed him so he can get started on the wine tasting.

"Don't get yourself drunk." Kurapika muttered audibly and the Spider head laughed a little.

"Why don't you help me out?" he asked and the blonde sighed.

"I told you, I have low alcohol tolerance."

"You just have to look at its appearance, Kurapika. Barbera wines have deep ruby colours with pink rims." Kuroro explained as he held up one glass and examined the colour while shaking the glass lightly. "Old barberas have vibrant aromas and are like cloves since they are mostly treated with oak for fermentation." Then, he put his lips at the rim of the glass and took a light sip from it. Kurapika watched and listened in awe, not knowing what to say with Kuroro's vast knowledge about wines. The man looked at her with a smile. "Thin." He simply said.

"Thin?" she asked and Kuroro smiled.

"It means that this one lacks the fruity flavour of a barbera wine." He explained and put his glass down. "Barberas have a fruity and plummy taste with a touch of acidity."

"Where did you learn all this?" the blonde asked curiously as she, too, took one bottle and opened it, pouring herself one glass. But she noticed that Kuroro did not answer her question and only continued opening different bottles.

Ignoring it, Kurapika decided to only focus herself in finding that 20-year old barbera wine bottle. She looked for that deep ruby colour Kuroro told her about and inhaled its aroma, wrinkling her nose a little because she's not that fond of the smell of alcoholic drinks. Then, the Kuruta tried drinking one and suddenly regretted it. It doesn't suit her palate well. She looked over to where Kuroro was and saw him examining his most likely 15th glass of wine. He still looks sober though.

_Early in the morning and we're drinking alcohol... very productive._ The Kuruta thought to herself.

"Kurapika." He called out and the blonde immediately sauntered towards him. He held out his glass to her and she looked at it. "Taste it." He ordered.

"No. I don't think..."

"Kurapika." Kuroro said sternly. "Just a light sip and tell me what it tastes like."

"But I thought you already tasted it." Kurapika said as she took the glass from him.

"I did but I'm not sure about it. The other wines have messed up my palate." The man explained to her. "That could be the one."

With a defeated sigh, Kurapika took a very light sip from the drink. The liquid scattered all over her tongue and she let it flow down her throat in a fluid motion to let her taste it properly. She was surprised to find herself quite liking it. She licked her lower lip and contemplated on the aftertaste.

"Juicy and sharp." She took another light sip. "It's really fruity and its texture is silky. Also, it tastes like plum and cherry."

"You're learning fast." Kuroro chuckled and took the bottle where he got the wine from. "This is it."

"Are you sure?" Kurapika asked and looked at the label of the dark green bottle. It has the number 50 on it and Kuroro examined it intently. Now that they found the bottle, what's next? The blonde took the bottle from him and touched the label. "Fifty." She whispered as she touched the number. "It's Uncle Kairo's present age."

The blonde ran her fingers slowly on the bottle, feeling its smooth surface. Then, she suddenly felt some sort of lump underneath its sticker label. Kuroro noticed that she found something and walked closer towards her. Kurapika then slowly peeled off the sticker and smiled to herself when she found what they had been looking for.

Underneath the sticker label, a group of words were engraved. If they only knew that the next clue would be found on the bottle itself, they wouldn't have wasted anymore time and just peeled off every sticker from all the bottles here.

"Read it." Kuroro said and Kurapika nodded.

"What stands 3,250 feet and has 251 floors?" the blonde read as her eyes lowered further and saw another set of words under the first set. "How many pages does Ayumi Suzuki's first book have?"

The two looked at each other.

"3,250 feet with 251 floors." The Kuruta repeated and returned her gaze to the bottle. She remembered one time when Gon and Killua talked about reaching the 251st floor of a tower called... "Heaven's Arena."

Kuroro looked at her. "Heaven's Arena?"

"That's right. Heaven's Arena." Kurapika repeated. "It's the world's fourth tallest building measuring 3,250 feet from the ground."

"That place is filled with martial artists. What would Kairo be doing there?" he asked and Kurapika shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe we should go and find out." She replied.

"And what about the second clue? How many pages does your first book have?"

Kurapika froze a little and looked at Kuroro. "Eh? The pages?"

The man looked back at her and sighed. "You don't know, do you?"

"How am I supposed to know? I don't memorize page numbers." She grunted annoyingly.

"Well, I don't know either." Kuroro countered. He had been collecting Kurapika's books but such trivial things like the number of pages they have never entered his mind. But he does know that her first book is entitled _'The Wonders of the Goine Rainforest'_ and is not that thick with. It has paperback covers and is medium-sized.

"We should go to a bookstore and buy my first book then." Kurapika suggested but it seems like Kuroro wasn't listening. "Hey," she called out.

"Heaven's Arena is located in Padokia District." He said and smiled a little. "Remember when I told you about me running a bookstore?" the man asked and Kurapika nodded.

"Wait, is your bookstore located in Padokia District?" she asked back.

"That's right. So I suggest that we go directly to Heaven's Arena and just get the book from my bookstore."

Agreeing with him, they immediately left the Ladenburg mansion and headed back to the international airport. It has been three days since they left Gushiken Manor and they have to hurry before they run out of time and fail to find Kairo before Christmas.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

In Padokia District, Killua's house in Kukuroo Mountain. Unfortunately, Kurapika's silver-haired friend is not at home (because he doesn't like it at home) and is still tagging along with Gon, doing whatever they want.

When Kurapika and Kuroro arrived the next day, late afternoon, they immediately went towards the small bookstore that Kuroro owns. The store was old and a little shabby outside, but inside, the books were well taken care of and are in their pristine conditions. In one shelf, Kurapika saw many of her works being displayed there, ranging from the first volumes to the last ones, from paperback to hard bound.

"This place is nice." She commented and read the titles of the other books that were also displayed on bigger shelves. The blonde was impressed with Kuroro's collection from topics like politics, history, biographies, and novels.

On the other side of the place, she saw another shelf with books about wines. Curious, Kurapika sauntered towards it and pulled out one book, opened it then skimmed through the pages. So, aside from books, Kuroro does like studying about winemaking and wine tasting. No wonder he had lots of expensive brands of wine bottles being displayed in his study room. She thought they're really just for decorations and nothing else. Well, Kurapika barely sees him drinking anyway.

Then, another object caught her attention as she closed the book and put it back to its proper place.

Kuroro all the while was searching for the first book that she wrote and when he found it, he pulled it out of the shelf then turned to its last page. "Page 210." He whispered and turned to Kurapika to tell her of his findings.

He saw her staring intently at one bare wall of the shop. The man realized the thing she was looking at and he felt himself tense up a little.

"Who's the man in the painting?" the Kuruta asked, breaking her eye contact at the painting to look at Kuroro.

"The previous owner of this shop." He replied calmly.

"He looks like you." She commented, making the Spider head chuckle a little.

"You think so?"

Kurapika can't help but furrow her eyebrows in puzzlement. The painting she was looking at is a painting of a man and a woman. The man has deep brown hair with a pair of mysterious obsidian eyes that reminded her so much of Kuroro's own eyes. On the other hand, the woman had silky shoulder-length jet black hair and dark blue eyes that looked very alive to the Kuruta.

"And the woman?" she asked.

"Probably his wife." Kuroro replied once again as he strode towards her. "It's page 210, Kurapika."

"Hmmm." The blonde hummed and looked at him. "What are these people to you that you even bothered to display their portrait here?" She asked and Kuroro immediately knew where she's going at.

"Instead of worrying about those people, shouldn't you be more worried about the Heaven's Arena? It seems like the next clue is found in the 210th floor." For a moment, Kuroro suddenly regretted bringing Kurapika here.

"You're right." The blonde agreed and they walked out of the bookstore, locking it before heading towards the Heaven's Arena.

Kurapika can feel that Kuroro is starting to act weird. His teasing lessened a little, not that she wanted to be teased more often. It all started when she made him bring his father up. Determined, Kurapika silently vowed to herself that she will find out what Kuroro is hiding from her.

_But that's invading of privacy! He must have a deep reason for hiding it._ Kurapika fleetingly thought to herself.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Once they entered Heaven's Arena, they were greeted by the sinister looks of martial artists who're all lining up in front of the registration in the ground floor. Most of the looks were particularly directed at Kuroro and Kurapika realized that the man is not wearing his bandana. However, Kuroro is rather lax, knowing that the fighters on the lower floors are weaker.

The Spider head had been in Heaven's Arena a long time before, but only as a spectator. He watched the fights on the 200s and saw many techniques used by powerful nen users. He also remembered sending Machi in here to inform Hisoka, who was staying in the 200s, about their York Shin mission seven years ago.

"Let's go and get registered." Kuroro whispered as they walked towards the registration booth.

"We will fight?" Kurapika asked unbelievably. "But we could just watch the fights."

"Did you think that Kairo made us come here to merely watch their boring battles?" the man asked back and Kurapika sighed. True, she wasn't expecting that their stay here will be easy. Kairo must have prepared something for them, something unexpected and possibly dangerous. Together, they went over to the line to get registered. There were still other people shooting them their glares and stares.

Some fighters even made way for them as they approached the line and others gave up their spot, making it faster for them to fill up their entry form. Once registered, the two were given their respective numbers and immediately preceded to the battle area where many small arenas were standing, with different martial artists fighting against each other. The crowd inside were all cheering and jeering at their favourite fighters, often betting with each other. Kurapika and Kuroro took a seat and waited for their number to be called, all the while watching the battles.

After half an hour, the announcer finally called a series of numbers for the next fights.

"Number 1995 and 2337, please come to Ring B, Number 1562 and 1923, please come to Ring F..." the female announcer trailed off.

Kuroro looked at his registration paper and saw that his number, 1562, has been called.

"Looks like you're up." Kurapika said and the man stood up. "Make sure you win." She teased a little and the man smirked at her.

"Why don't we make our stay here a little interesting, Kurapika." He suggested and the Kuruta took that as a challenge.

She smirked back at him. "Alright. Whoever gains a higher floor on the first try will win. The loser..."

"Will kiss the winner, how's that?" the man teased making Kurapika blush as he smirk faded.

"You pervert!" she angrily yelled at her, annoyed at the fact that he could even think of such things in a place like this.

"I'm off then." Kuroro said and shoved his hands inside his pockets then went down the stairs, heading towards Ring F.

Upon arriving, the referee asked him and his opponent, who turned out to be some sort of gangster with a dragon tattoo donning his entire arm, to step inside the ring. Kuroro can't sense anything strong and interesting about him.

"Hey, you." His opponent called out and Kuroro raised his eyebrows, stared at him intently. "Ya better don't take your eyes off me for a second. You will not know what'll hit ya." He threatened gravely. Kuroro remained quiet and it must have ticked the gangster off. "Ya know what I hate? Its guys like you who act cool!"

The announcer looked at Kuroro then to his opponent, looking if the two are ready.

"Start!" he shouted after his assessment.

The gangster made his first move, lunging forward to Kuroro with fists clenched, shouting a battle cry. From her seat, Kurapika watched as the Spider head did not move from his spot and just stood there, waiting for his opponent to get a good shot at him. However, the Kuruta can see, with the help of Gyou, that the man is blanketing his left hand with Kou.

Everything happened so fast that only those with fast eyes can see. The gangster suddenly fell down on the floor, his neck twisted in a gruesome way. But he's still breathing. The referee seemed distraught as he looked at the scene before him. He, like most of the spectators here, did not see what really happened. Kuroro still had his hands inside his pockets as the limp body lay behind him. He turned to the referee with a small smile.

"Care to compute in what floor I'd proceed?" he asked and the referee immediately tapped some keys into his calculator-like device in his pal while the commentator kept on yelling how everything happened in an instant.

Kurapika can't help but smile to herself. "His speed is incredible as always."

When the gangster was a foot away from Kuroro, the Spider head took a slight step to the right and delivered two quick hits on his stomach and neck. His last hit has very hard that it broke some bones and twisted the gangster's neck. With Kou, the damage was even greater.

The Kuruta scoffed a little. He didn't have to use nen in the first place when he can easily beat his poor excuse for an opponent in just mere seconds.

A few minutes later, Kuroro was already climbing up the stairs and arrived, sitting down on his seat beside her while clutching a piece of paper that contains the number of the floor he was sent to.

"180th floor." He said and smiled lightly. "Beat that." The man challenged.

"I will." The Kuruta replied stubbornly as the announcer once again called another set of numbers. This time, Kurapika's number was called and she went down to Ring D.

"Woah! That's one blonde hottie over there!" one of the audiences beside him yelled which he followed with a perverted fox whistle.

Kuroro's eye twitched a little but decided to ignore them and just watched Kurapika's fight. He watched as the blonde entered the ring and faced a muscle-toned brute, wearing a white judo uniform. When the referee signalled for them to start, the two fighters lunged at each other.

Suddenly, Kuroro felt an unmistakably strong nen user watching his back. He quickly turned to look at the entrance hall of and saw a shadow of some sort of cloak flowing as it disappeared in the dark. The man almost stood up in attempt to chase whoever it was spying at them when the commentator abruptly announced that Kurapika won her match. He sat back again and waited for the blonde to climb up.

When Kurapika arrived she immediately showed her the ticket which read 180th floor, the same floor as him.

"Well, that's convenient." He said with a chuckle. "And too bad."

"Hey, hottie! Wanna go out on a date tonight?" the same man yelled at Kurapika and the blonde ignored him, like what Kuroro did.

"Let's go." The Spider head stood up and took her hand, suggesting that they go and register themselves on the 180th floor. His possessiveness is getting the better of himself now.

Upon reaching the 180th floor, they immediately registered their names and were given private rooms since reaching the 100 means having a room of your own. Their next fight was scheduled tomorrow, much to Kurapika's disappointment. However, Kuroro was silently glad that they will be given some time to rest after their nonstop travel from Ryuusegai, to Norsalle, then to Ladenburg, and finally to Padokia district. He knew that despite how energetic Kurapika may look, she's actually tired. Somehow, she did not get enough sleep on the plane and barely rested herself on their flight to Padokia district. He was also tired and the effect of the different wines he drank yesterday gave him a little hangover. But there's nothing he can't handle.

Kuroro glanced at the wall clock above the registration booth and found out that it's already eight in the evening. Together with Kurapika, the two ordered some food to be delivered in their rooms. Then, they retreated to their respective rooms, which were across each other.

The man knew that once they get to the 200s, there will be some fighters there who would recognize him. Despite being a successful businessman, he still hasn't quit being the leader of his notorious group. There's a possibility that the owner of the shadow back in the arenas is someone who knows him. He must never keep his guard down in a place like this.

Kuroro sat on his bed and comfortably settling himself on it. He wondered whether he should tell Kurapika about the presence he felt.

And what is Kairo trying to do?

What exactly is he trying to accomplish in this senseless chase?

_Maybe it's not senseless at all._ Kuroro thought and sat up. He sauntered towards the bathroom and went to over to the sink to wash his face. He looked up and saw his face in front of a mirror.

Kuroro's hand rose up and he touched his cheek where the scratch was before. It was gone now since Kurapika healed it for him. Then, touched the dark insignia on his forehead, frowning light as he remembered the events in the past few days.

First, he saw the certain face of a _**man**_ that he had been trying to forget and erase in his life.

Second, Kairo made them look for a 20-year old bottle of barbera wine, the kind of wine that _**he**_ likes so much.

And third, they were forced to come here, in the place that holds a great significance to _**him**_.

Just what is Kairo trying to do?

Kuroro took a towel and wiped his wet face. Then, his dinner arrived and he ate silently as he calmed his mind. Then, he finally tucked himself on the bed and tried going to sleep, his mind still contemplating on Kairo's unknown goal.

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**Author's Note:** _Okaayy... I don't know what has gotten into me right now. Haha! So, I made Kuroro a wine enthusiast. Well, wines are very sophisticated and I think Kuroro is like that, too. The reason behind Kuroro's love for wines will be revealed in the future chapters. Tee Hee! Remember in chapter 19 of Forced Trials? It was mentioned there that Kuroro owns a book store. Hehehe. Don't forget to read and REVIEW! Thank you once again for all your reviews!_

**Next:** _Just who is this man Kuroro has been thinking about? And what will happen when the two reaches the 210__th__ floor of Heaven's Arena? Where is Kairo? Who is that mysterious person observing Kuroro? Everything will be revealed in the future chapters._


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__ I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 13

The Search for Kairo Part 3: Black and White

After three days of stay in the Heaven's Arena, Kurapika and Kuroro finally reached the 210th floor, winning a total of six easy matches. When they reached the 200th floor, one powerful nen user was waiting for them and he released a malicious nen for their initiation. However, having learned nen a long time ago, the couple easily countered and passed through the dangerous aura that could engrave serious damage to anyone who doesn't know anything about nen. Kurapika then deducted that all the fighters in the 200s are nen users, and powerful ones at that. With that information, she was sure that during her fight, she will have to use her scarlet eyes. That is why she's wearing black eye contacts once again to conceal her them if ever she gets to activate her eyes.

Currently waiting by the stands, the blonde was looking over the ferocious battle going on by the single arena at the 218th floor. Her match is next and Kuroro had to be gone of all times. He excused himself for a moment, saying that he'll come back immediately. He said he had some business to take care of and, although Kurapika wanted to know what it is, she'd just let him go. Surely, whatever business it might be, Kuroro would want it to be his own. After all, if he is ready, he'll share it with her.

"Hello, is this seat taken?" a friendly voice suddenly asked her and Kurapika turned to look at the person. She was greeted by a young man of her age with hair that has a peculiar shade of white, not silver, and with a pair of mesmerizing glasz eyes.

Kurapika looked at the empty seat beside her then to the man, smiling lightly at him. "No." She replied shortly and the man sat down beside her.

"Wow. That match sure is long, don't you think?" he asked and the blonde nearly furrowed her eyebrows. He's actually trying to converse with her.

"Uh, yeah. It sure is."

"I'm Yaron by the way, and you are?" he introduced and asked, directing it to the blonde beside him.

"Kurapika." She replied curtly, continuing to watch the fight. What is she doing? Talking to strangers. Well, technically, he's no longer a stranger since he introduced himself. But still, she shouldn't be talking to him when the people around here can't be trusted that easily.

"Ah." Yaron chuckled a little. Kurapika can't help but notice, from the corner of her eyes, the peculiar cloak that he is wearing, a cloak that concealed most of his inner clothes.

Yaron kept on engaging the blonde in small conversations, often asking her about her opinion on trivial things. Seeing that the man is just trying to be friendly, Kurapika found it rude to ignore him and resorted into curtly answering his questions, also asking him some when she finds an opportunity. For a moment, they both forgot the match they were watching until the announcer had announced the winner of the current fight.

"Looks like it's time for the next match." Kurapika stated as Yaron nodded in agreement, still smiling cheerfully. His cheerfulness can be very infectious that the blonde nearly found herself drowned in just talking with him.

"_Now, where the heck is Kuroro?"_ she thought to herself and waited for the announcer to call out her number.

"Number 1563, Kurapika-sama and Number 3795, Yaron-sama, please come to the arena by the 218th floor." Both Kurapika and Yaron looked at each other, shocked.

"Y-you're my next opponent?" Yaron asked unbelievably.

"Well, if my ear didn't deceive me, then yes, I'm your next opponent." The blonde replied curtly and Yaron laughed.

"I can't believe how small the world can be!" he laughed out loud, making the Kuruta smile. "Let's have a good match then." Yaron held out his hand and Kurapika took it, shaking it lightly.

"A good match. Sounds nice." She replied and the two stood up to go down to the ring.

The blonde reluctantly went down the stairs, still wondering where Kuroro could be. He said he'd be back before her match starts. Surely he heard the announcer calling out her number. She listened as the audiences cheered for their match and she sighed. Looks like she will have to fight and stop being bothered where Kuroro whereabouts are.

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Kuroro Lucifer stepped out of the entrance hallway and entered the 218th floor, looking around. His eyes went down to the arena and he smiled at himself upon seeing Kurapika standing there, facing her opponent. As promised, he came back before her match started. He looked at the opponent she was going to face and his eyes narrowed down slightly, noting the familiarity of the man.

_Could it be?_ Kuroro thought and took a seat on one of the stands, where he can see the match clearly. He had been walking around on some floors of the Heaven's Arena, looking for any fighter who is wearing a cloak that will give him an unforgettable impression. He hadn't told Kurapika about the presence that was spying on him and just resorted into looking for him alone. That spy might be someone that Kairo sent to watch over them and deliver the next clue. They have been staying here for three days now and just reached the 210th floor.

The man turned his attention back to Kurapika's fight and decided to leave the issue for now. Once the blonde is finished, he will discuss it with her.

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Kurapika stood sternly as she looked at Yaron and his smiling face. Nothing could really make that smile disappear and it clearly irked the blonde. When the referee finally gave his signal for them to start, neither of the two moved. She was careful enough to know that Yaron is not just ordinary fighter since he reached the 200s like them.

The man's hand rose up and Kurapika summoned her chains, expecting for Yaron to make the first move. However, that was not the case. He had put his hand inside his cloak and pulled out a familiar white paper, showing it to the Kuruta as he tucked it between his two fingers.

Kurapika's eyes widened in shock. "That's-."

"Master Kairo asked me to give this to you." Yaron said with a chuckle and Kurapika glared at him. She knew this man couldn't be trusted.

"Give it to me." She hissed at him but the man shook his head.

"Nah. It's not that easy, Kurapika. You have to defeat me first." Yaron replied and inserted it back to his pocket. Then, he removed his cloak and tossed it to the side, revealing his white, flowing robe that made him look like some sort of angel along with his white hair. "You know, I've always wondered what kind of person Master Kairo's niece really is." He paused and held out his hand, materializing a black feather that contrasted his white clothes.

_He's also in materialization. _Kurapika thought and suddenly, Yaron threw the feather to the Kuruta, aiming for her head. Fortunately, she was able to throw out her Dowsing chain and deflected the attack.

"Amazing." Yaron clapped his hands and his smile looked sarcastic to Kurapika now. "Now, let's see how you handle more of those feathers." The man opened his arms as more black feathers appeared around him. Then, the said feathers lunged towards Kurapika.

The blonde immediately jumped out of the way, all the while sending her Dowsing chain to defend her. However, more of those feathers kept coming right at her and it's almost impossible to repel them all. Some of them went through her defence line and pierced her arm, leg, and shoulder. Kurapika winced in pain as the blood trickled down the small wounds. Fortunately, the Kuruta had used Ken all over her body. However, maintaining Ken can be very exhausting and nen-draining.

Finally, the black feathers had stopped chasing her and Kurapika jumped far away from Yaron, whose smile was now replaced with a smirk.

"How disappointing." He shook his head lightly. "To think that the great Kiaro's niece is actually this weak."

"You shouldn't underestimate me that much." The blonde replied seriously.

Kurapika almost wanted to snap at him but decided against it. He's trying to play with her mind and emotions that's why he's saying those things. Well, she won't let him. The blonde stood up properly and pulled out the three feathers still stuck to her body. She threw them back to Yaron but they dissolved quickly in the air even before it even reached the man. The Kuruta looked at the score board and realized that the referee had given Yaron's attack 2 points.

"I think it's time for you to get serious, Kurapika." Yaron said and chuckled. "Because I'll get serious, too." After Yaron had said his last statement, he materialized more feathers around him, but this time, white ones.

"Damn it." Kurapika cursed as the feathers chased after her once again. Even though it's futile to deflect all of them, she threw her Dowsing chain nonetheless. However, the white feathers just went through her chains like spirits and continued to dive straight to her body.

Seeing no other choice, Kurapika resorted to crossing both her arms to defend her upper body, which the feathers were aiming for. She waited for the stinging pain to come, but to her surprise, she felt nothing. Opening her eyes, the blonde saw that the white feathers were all stuck to her arm. She tried to shake them off but they remained stuck. The blonde looked at Yaron and he's still smiling as he held a single white feather on his left hand

"Lux." Kurapika heard Yaron whisper. Almost instantly, the blonde felt her body suddenly feel heavy. She tried raising her arms but it was useless. It's like the gravity was strongly pulling her arms down.

"Each feather stuck in your body weighs 100 kilograms. Seeing that your right arm is now immobilized, your chains will be useless, too." Yaron explained as he summoned more white feathers. "These feathers are especially designed to only stick themselves on human flesh and pass through any object."

Kurapika is totally running out of options as she jumped out of the way to avoid those white feathers getting stuck in any part of her body. Even if she can use her chains, they would still be useless since those feathers can go through anything. When the Kuruta dodged left, another set of white feathers appeared out of nowhere and attacked her. There was not enough time to dodge them and they stuck themselves behind her knees, her stomach, her thigh, and her back.

"Lux." Yaron whispered again and the feathers activated. A total of more than ten feathers were in Kurapika's body, making it more than one ton.

The blonde found herself kneeling on the concrete floor of the ring, panting hard, her eyes closed, and her body heavy. Very heavy. From his seat, Kuroro was watching intently, his eyes narrowing at the sight. This match is getting interesting.

"_Now, what are you going to do?" _Kuroro thought to himself. He was now sure that the person who was spying on him was Kurapika's current opponent. The aura he felt was so similar to him.

Back to the battle going on, Yaron was already walking towards the unmoving Kurapika. The scoreboard did not move, until Yaron delivered a sharp kick at the blonde's side, sending her doubling up. The referee then gave Yaron's attack one point and the man gave another hit on the Kuruta's stomach.

"Really disappointing." Yaron kneeled down to her eye level and clutched her hair. "Maybe I should just finish you off now. I'll just tell Master Kairo that you were not strong enough so I had no choice but to kills you and end your desperation."

Suddenly, Kurapika raised her clenched fist and delivered a Kou-blanketed punch through Yaron's angelic face. The man stumbled down on the ground, his glasz eyes registering shock. The Kuruta stood up and glared down at Yaron.

"This... this is not possible!" he whispered to himself. He was sure that there were more than ten feathers on her. How could she move like she's not carrying a heavy load?

"I told you not to underestimate me." The Kuruta said as Yaron pushed himself up and jumped away from her. He summoned more white feathers and sent them diving towards the Kuruta. However, Kurapika did not dodge. She let the feathers stick on her entire body.

"Lux!" Yaron yelled to activate the feathers once again. But to his surprise, the blonde remained standing, still unaffected. She took one step forward and the man backed away in retaliation.

"Let me guess..." Kurapika started and smirked at him as she continued pacing forward. "Those two abilities you showed me were your only skills." She said and saw how Yaron trembled a little. "How disappointing."

"You little-." Yaron materialized another set of fathers, this time black, and sent them to hit the Kuruta. But Kurapika was prepared for that. She had her entire body covered with a very powerful Ken, that's why the black feathers were deflected by her aura.

"Now, it's my turn." She raised her right arm where five white feathers were stuck to it, and pointed her middle finger that contained the Chain jail to her opponent. The said Chain jail appeared. It was masked by In all this time and Yaron failed to sense it.

"What the-." The man shouted as the Chain jail wrapped itself around him, forcing him to his Zetsu mode. Now that Kurapika had changed the conditions of her chains, she can now use it against non-Spiders to protect her loved ones and herself.

Yaron tried to summon more of his feathers, but his attempt was futile.

"It's useless, stop fighting." Kurapika said and stopped in front of the man.

"How... how could you move? Your whole body should have a weight of more than 3 tons now."

Kurapika did not answer. Instead, she raised her hand, used Ryo, and delivered a sharp chop on the base of his neck, making Yaron pass out. Then, the feathers around her body fell off and dissolved, making it comfortable for the blonde to move now. She expected for the feathers to deactivate once Yaron is in his Zetsu mode but when they did not, she opted to knock him out to see.

"Knock Out! Kurapika wins!" The referee immediately shouted and the cheers echoed all over the arena. Kurapika smiled to herself as she bent down and pulled out the white paper from Yaron's pocket. Then, she walked out of the ring to head back to her room.

Kuroro stood up from his seat and greeted the Kuruta. Kurapika, upon seeing him, glared at the man and gave him a not-so-hard punch on his shoulder.

"What was that for?" Kuroro asked, a slight smile on his face, as he rubbed the abused part of his body. It didn't hurt a bit but he figured out that Kurapika was a wee bit angry at him. He followed her out of the 218th arena as they proceeded to their rooms. Then, Kuroro recalled what really happened during the fight.

Since Kurapika was wearing black eye contacts, her opponent wasn't able to know it what really was the cause of her sudden strength. She went to her scarlet eyes mode, making her capable of utilizing all nen types to 100%. She used her reinforcement ability and was able to carry all those weight shoved on her body.

Kurapika's eyes made her scarier than she already is. Kuroro vaguely wondered who would win if they fight against each other.

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Arriving in Kurapika's room, the blonde immediately summoned her chains once again and used her Holy chain to heal her wounds. Kuroro is currently sitting on the couch nearby, reading the paper she took from Yaron. After washing her face from the sink and changing her clothes inside the bathroom, she emerged out and walked towards Kuroro to see if he had answered the new riddle they got.

She sat down beside him and Kuroro gave her the paper. Kurapika read the riddle and looked at the man beside her.

"Any idea?" she asked and put the paper down the coffee table.

"I think it's referring to one of the mansions Kairo owned." Kuroro replied as he recalled the clue inside his head.

_The House of God_

_28:17, 19_

"Do you think its referring to the Bethel Manor?"

Kuroro nodded once. "That's what I've been thinking of." He said and remembered something he read in the Bible once. "The word Bethel has two components. The first syllable, which is _beth_, means house, temple, or household. The second syllable, _El_, is the abbreviation for Elohim, meaning God."

"And when put together, it means _House of God_." Kurapika said understandingly. "Well, it fits perfectly. The next clue is found in the Bethel Manor."

"Bethel can also mean _the Gate of Heaven_." The man added.

"Then what about the numbers underneath?" she asked as Kuroro studied the said numbers.

"28:17, 19. It looks to me like a bible verse." He whispered thoughtfully and stood up. He walked towards the book shelf at the other side of Kurapika's room and read the books displayed there, looking for a bible. Fortunately, he saw one green bible and he pulled it out, opened it and turned to its first chapter, which was the book of Genesis. He scanned his fingers down each verse, looking for the one until he finally found it.

"Here it is." He said and went back to Kurapik then showed the verse. "Genesis 28:17, 19."

"This is none other but the House of God, and this is the gate of heaven; and he called the name of that place Bethel." The Kuruta read aloud and smiled to herself. "So, our hunch is correct. The next clue is pointing at Bethel Manor." Then, Kurapika frowned.

She wondered if the Bethel Manor is still okay. It has been abandoned by Kairo and the servants working there had been distributed to the other mansions, giving them new jobs. The last time the Kuruta went there, she killed Michael Fuji. So basically, the place holds some bad memories for her.

"We'll go tomorrow morning. For now, rest." Kuroro ordered and she found herself nodding.

The man stood up and walked towards the book shelf once again to return the bible. Kurapika watched his back for a moment before sighing. "Kuroro." She called out and the man spun on his heels to look at her.

"Yes?"

"If I ask you something, will you answer me truthfully?" she asked and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"It depends on the question." Kuroro replied and sat on the bed.

"Can I ask you now?"

The Spider head was silent for a moment as he noted the seriousness in her voice. He had a slight idea of what she wanted to ask about. "Sure." He finally replied at length.

For a moment, Kurapika hesitated, until she chuckled a little. "No, never mind. Maybe some other time." _Not now..._ the blonde added inside her head.

"Alright. Get some rest." Kuroro stood up and walked over towards her. Then, he bent down and planted a gentle kiss on the blonde's forehead, making the woman flush slightly. Such sweet gestures from the man always make her a little uncomfortable because of the fact that she's still not used to it.

Then, he smiled at her and walked out of her room to head towards his own. When Kurapika was finally alone, she headed back her bed and rested herself. She wondered how long this chase will take them. She wanted it to be over as soon as possible because she missed the twins. They're probably upset right now given that it has been a week since they left. One more week and it'll be Christmas.

With one final sigh, Kurapika closed her eyes and let herself drift off to dreamland.

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"_Dad, why do you like wines so much?" _

_The brown-haired man looked down on his son with a smile. He ruffled his hair and the boy grinned at him._

"_How about you taste one so you'll know why?" He suggested as he held out his glass to him and the little boy took one light sip from it. His face suddenly wrinkled as he glared at his father. The man laughed heartily._

"_That's awful." The boy complained with a frown. _

"_Hai, hai. You'll love it when you grow up."_

"_I don't think so." The voice of a woman that sounded angry said. The two males looked at her with suspicious smiles. "Aamir, why are you giving him your wines? He's still six!"_

"_Aw. Don't be a spoil sport, love." Aamir replied as his wife crossed her arms._

"_Mom, how come daddy likes wines?" the boy asked and his mother smiled down at him._

"_Well, he just loves it."_

"_Just like how I love you two!" Aamir added as he carried the boy and let him sit on his lap, stroking his raven hair gently. The little one can't help but laugh as his mother joined them._

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"_M-mom." The boy whispered as he helplessly watched the mangled body of her mother being burnt by no other than his father himself. He was inside a forest, silently watching, not knowing what to do. There were other people around his father, ruthless-looking men, and he heard them talking indiscreetly._

"_Where is the boy?" one of the men grunted as he clutched the collar of Aamir's shirt. "Where is he?"_

"_I swear. My son doesn't have the mark! He doesn't have the blood of a High One!" Aamir replied, his voice trembling as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Please spare him."_

"_You liar!"_

"_How could I lie? I've been nothing but loyal to you. I even killed my own wife to prove that!"_

_The boy, hidden safely inside one hollow of a tree, was shocked at the revelation. He tried so hard to fight back his tears as he remembered the last thing that his beloved mother said to him before she died._

"_I love you, Kuroro." _

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Kuroro found himself panting hard as he grasped the bed sheet firmly. Sweat trickled down from his forehead and he looked around. His eyes caught sight of the glowing numbers of a digital clock, which read 2 in the morning.

It has been a while since he last had that... nightmare.

The man can't help but chuckle sarcastically to himself as he laid back down the soft cushions of the bed. What a good way to start his morning.

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"You don't look so good." Kurapika commented as she and Kuroro were both walking inside Padokia district's airport. They just finished purchasing their plane ticket going back to Norsalle. From Norsalle city, they will ride on a boat to get to Morei city, where Bethel Island and Manor are located.

"Hmmm?" the man hummed casually, his hands shoved in his pockets as usual.

"You look... weird somehow."

"I just didn't get enough sleep." He replied and the Kuruta decided not to press any further, seeing how tired Kuroro is.

They boarded the earliest scheduled blimp and rested themselves in their private room. However, Kurapika was feeling more energetic and she decided to walk around the airship for a while to contemplate on what might happen in Bethel Manor. Kuroro on the other hand, chose to sleep inside their room to make up for his loss last night.

Looking down from the glass windows, Kurapika saw nothing but white fluty clouds and she sighed. Last night, she nearly asked Kuroro to tell her about what kind of family he had in the past, if ever he has one. The people she saw at the painting inside his book store were surely related to him, but in what way?

The man in the painting, the previous owner of the shop, really looked like Kuroro, save for his hair. And the woman... she looks really beautiful. Her dark hair complimented her eyes so much that she was almost the life of the painting.

And when she asked Kuroro about them, she could practically feel the slight change in his demeanour no matter how expertly he hid it. He had been affected in a way. When he told her about their very first priority, which was reaching the 210th floor of Heaven's Arena, he was basically and obviously trying to lure her attention away from the painting.

What exactly is he hiding? Maybe a terrible past?

The man could be very unfair sometimes. He seldom opens himself up, unlike her, who had been pouring what she's been thinking and feeling when necessary. Well, Kuroro opens up sometimes, but only when it's about her and the twins. He never once mentioned anything about his past family until now.

Why are things getting complicated now that they're together?

Not knowing the answer, Kurapika just sighed and bowed her head low, still gazing down on the white clouds, her mind drifting away to two persons; her twins.

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**Author's Note:** _I've been making up something inside my mind regarding Kuroro's past. I'll be a little sad... I think. But I hope it'll fit the story. If you have any questions, I will answer them in the future chapters. The Search for Kairo arc is not all really about finding Kairou *winks*... Please READ and Review! Thank you for all your reviews!_

**Next:** _Part 4. Finally, Kurapika and Kuroro arrive at the Bethel Manor and find __**him**__. The question Kurapika had been asking herself will be answer by __**him**__. Kuroro will also get the answers he wanted for many years now from __**him**__, since the day he had been dumped in Ryuusegai. Who could this be person who holds those answers?_


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__ I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 14

The Search for Kairo Part 4: Aamir and Kuroro

The weather in Morei City is particularly nice. It's not so hot and the temperature's just right. The day is perfect for a nice swim in the beach where Kurapika and Kuroro are standing on. However, they did not come for that reason. Not far away from the beach, Bethel Island can be seen and at the middle on it, the mansion where Kurapika lived for almost a year stood, still looking majestic and strong as always. The blonde narrowed her eyes and noted the changes around the beach. The port is still there and so are the yachts that they use to transport themselves towards the island. Kuroro remembered that he first met Kairo Bethel in this very beach, when he tried to get to the island by himself.

Sensing how reluctant Kurapika looked, Kuroro opted to take her hand to reassure her, like what he would always do when she's in doubt. The Kuruta was really grateful that he's by her side right now. If it weren't for him, this search would be more difficult than it already is. The two walked towards the port and got on one yacht that is ready to depart. Fortunately, they are still in good conditions. Kurapika wondered who had been taking good care of the boats and kept them running smoothly.

The yacht sailed fluidly against the gentle waves and the blonde felt refreshed as the wind caressed her skin. It has been a while since she last visited a beach and felt its salty sea air. It somehow made her feel a little homesick, knowing that every day in the past seven years, she would walk around the beach, barefooted, bathing under the warn heat of the sun. It was a surprise that she didn't get tanned even just a bit. Maybe next time, she should take the twins out to a beach resort.

Kuroro had also been enjoying the cool air as he stood not far away from the blonde. He wondered what they would see in Bethel Manor and hoped that this will be the last destination. He's practically tired right now, with all the relevance of the events to his past. It awakened an unknown feeling inside his chest, but he could make it out a little bit. It seems like it's the feeling of... _longing_?

The man slightly chuckled at how pathetic it sounds.

The yacht finally arrived on the port located in Bethel island and the two passengers disembarked, thanking the one steering the boat as they headed towards the mansion. Kurapika is now totally feeling nostalgic as she took more steps towards the entrance doors of the mansion. Arriving in front of the doors, the blonde felt reluctant in pushing it open.

Heh. How cowardly can she get? This is another fragment in her past and she almost wanted to run away from it. How feeble.

Taking in a deep breath, Kurapika took one step forward and pushed one side of the double doors open while Kuroro pushed the other. The two opened it complete and light immediately entered the whole room, illuminating all the furnishings that were covered with the same white cloth. They looked around, taking it the sight and the stale scent of the place. Some fixtures were a little dusty while others were covered with small cobwebs, all indications pointing that nobody had been here for the past seven years.

The turned their attention at the grand stairs at the middle of the mansion that lead to the second floor. Then, the Kuruta noticed that the grand piano she played when she came here doesn't have white cloth over it. She turned on her heels and approached it slowly while Kuroro watched her do so. The blonde touched the keys and pressed one. The instrument still sounded melodious but soulful.

"It has been a while." Kurapika whispered and smiled gently, her eyes fixed on the piano. They were almost burning scarlet as if saying how happy the Kuruta is in coming ac in here. It's like how she felt when Kuroro brought her back to Rukuso, where they carved their name in the Unification tree.

"Kurapika." Kuroro called out and the blonde looked over to where he was standing. The man is still, as if listening to something. "Did you hear that?" he asked.

Kurapika also stood still to heighten her hearing abilities and sure enough, she heard something sort of melody. It was like an instrument being played. A flute.

"It's from the second floor." She concluded and almost immediately, the two walked briskly towards the grand stairs, listening to where the instrument may be from. They followed the sound and ended up in front of Kairo Bethel's old private study room. Of course, that's where the sound _should _come from.

Kuroro took the liberty of opening it for the Kuruta, knowing that she's still not sure. But now is not the time to be sure. They've come a long way now and they promised they will find him no matter what. If ever Kairo really is here, everything will be up to Kurapika.

The doors clicked open and the flute stopped playing. Kurapika, thinking that the person must have sensed their presence and is trying to escape from them, quickly pushed the double door to open them completely. But, when her eyes landed on the single figure standing in front of a large portrait of a beautiful woman, her breathing almost stopped. Kuroro was also standing still, his obsidian eyes also fixed on the man holding a flute, smiling care freely at them.

No one uttered the first word. They were just looking at each other, observing the things that changed around them. He's still the same, only aged a little. His blond hair has become a little duller but his blue eyes held the same glint in them, and Kurapika knew that everything is real and not an illusion. She took a step forward unconsciously, gulping and imaginary lump in her throat.

"U-uncle." The Kuruta whispered, her voice trembling a little.

The man put his flute down on a nearby table and smiled lightly at her. "Well, long time no see, my dear." He beamed at her childishly.

"Long time-?" The blonde cut off her sentence and she clenched her fists hard, biting her lower lip angrily. Then, she strolled towards him, preparing herself for a round of sharp tongue lashing. "You sent us on a while goose chase for you, leaving stupid clues lying around. What on earth were you thinking? Making us go through a hallucinating forest, making us drink wines, and sending one of your men to kill me? Honestly, you did not change! In fact, your childish schemes have worsened over the years. You must stop it or I'll make you." The Kuruta spat out at him, her voice filled with annoyance, anger, and a bit of gladness.

For a moment, Kairo stood in front of her, his eyes widening slightly in shock while he listened to her. Then, he broke into a little smile and laughed. He suddenly wrapped his arms around the girl, and Kurapika stiffened a little before relaxing to his embrace.

"I missed you too." He laughed and the blonde did not feel uncomfortable in his touch.

In fact, she wanted to cry really hard. She missed her uncle's fatherly touch. Pulling back, Kairo grinned at the woman in front of him.

"My, look how much you've grown." He said with clear pride. "You've become a real Kuruta now. You look just like your mother."

"Uncle..." she trailed off and tightened her hug around him. Kurapika realized that she had forgiven him already. There's no more hate and anger. All is in the past now. What matters now is how their future will be.

Not far from them, Kuroro watched intently with a light smile on his face. Now that they've found Kairo, they can go back with him now, back to Gushiken Manor. The twins must be getting very impatient now. Kairo turned his attention to Kuroro and he gestured for him to come closer. Relenting, the man walked towards the embracing Kurutas. Kairo let go of Kurapika and then fished out something from his pocket. He gave Kuroro some sort of coin and the man took it from him.

"I believe you know what that symbol represents." Kairo said, his voice suddenly becoming serious.

Kuroro looked down on the coin and flipped it over to see what's really engraved on it. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he abruptly looked up to look at Kairo. Kurapika also looked at the coin and saw that a crest, similar to Kuroro's cross tattoo, is engraved on it.

"Where did you get this?" Kuroro asked sternly as if determined to know the answer.

"A man gave it to me about three years ago." Kairo replied. "A man that goes by the name _Aamir_."

Kurapika swore she saw how Kuroro's hand curled into a tight fist and suddenly relaxed. The coin was still on his hand and the blonde is getting confused on what's happening.

"Where is he now?" the raven-haired man asked once again but Kairo frowned a little.

"He's dead. He was killed because of old age, Kuroro." Kairo looked a little sad but then smiled gently at him. "You were the one in his mind before he died. He wondered what you're doing now, where you are, how you are living-."

"STOP!" Kuroro suddenly shouted furiously taking Kurapika aback. She had never seen him react that way. What exactly is happening?

"Kurapika, my dear, if you don't mind, can you leave the two of us? We need to talk in private?" Kairo requested.

Noting the sudden change in the atmosphere, the Kuruta nodded and walked out of the room, closing the doors, but not before casting Kuroro's back a tentative glance. She then decided to go and walk around the beach for a while until the two are finished. It seems like they're going to discuss a very sensitive topic that has something to do with Kuroro and a man named Aamir.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When Kurapika completely left the room, Kairo turned his attention back to Kuroro, looking at him with a very serious expression. In return, Kuroro also stared back at him, as if challenging the man.

"Just what are you trying to accomplish, Kairo?" he asked venomously.

"The truth, Kuroro." The raven-haired man was then confused with his response. "I'm doing this because you need to know what really happened 27 years ago."

"I know what happened 27 years ago. I don't need you to tell me."

"You still act childish sometimes, Kuroro. You tell others not to run away from their past when you yourself cannot face yours."

"I'm done with it. There's nothing-."

"Yes, there is." Kairo cut off. "That mark in your forehead and the sign etched on the coin symbolizes your High One heritage." He said with a frown. "And I trust hat you know what High Ones are."

Kuroro did not speak nor did he move. Yes, he knew what the High Ones are. They are a unique breed of people with talents and abilities greater than normal humans. They can live up to 300 years and their blood are said to prolong the life of even those who're at their deathbed. Their appearance are similar to normal humans, but jet black hair is the most common hair colour for them. High Ones are very difficult to distinguish between ordinary humans.

However, there is a way to determine them. At the age of seven, a peculiar cross mark would appear on any part of their body. Only High Ones with that cross tattoo have the life-prolonging blood, but such mark appears only in pure-bred High Ones and not on half-breeds. It is a very rare case to see a half human and half High One with the cross tattoo, and a half-breed has the normal life span of a human.

Lucky are those High Ones who doesn't have the mark since they won't be hunted.

That's right. The High Ones are almost extinct in this world. Even finding a complete family is difficult. For thousands of years, many people have been hunting down the High Ones, hoping to get their blood and gain more years in their life. They were called the High Ones because of the fact that they were the very first discoverers of the concept of nen and utilized it.

That's what happened to Kuroro's mother, who was a pure-bred High One descendant. Her cross tattoo is on her shoulder and 27 years ago, his father sold her away to a mafia family with a daughter who's in her deathbed. After draining away her blood, they threw her body into the forest, where his father burned her body. Seems like the mafia family was not contented and the even demanded his father to also give him to them.

At that time, Kuroro had just turned seven and the cross tattoo is starting to take form on his forehead. His father, Aamir, a normal human, managed to convince the mafia family that he didn't inherit his mother's High One blood. He then took Kuroro to Ryuusegai and left him there to survive. After that, he had never seen his father anymore. He left him completely in that place. That's how Kuroro took a great dislike against the mafia community that lead him to cut off their ties with Ryuusegai City.

Frowning, Kairo decided to break the silence. "Aamir was protecting you, Kuroro."

Kuroro chuckled sarcastically. "That's nice to hear." He said, his voice tinted with anger.

"It's the truth. If Etana-."

"Don't include my mother in this, Kairo." The Spider head cut off, snapping at him. "She has nothing to do with this."

"Yes, there is." Kairo insisted. "And you will listen."

"What did Aamir say to you? That he regretted throwing me away? That he shouldn't have sold away my mother?" The man scoffed a little. "Pathetic."

"Your mother was the one who asked to be sold away." The blond said, nearly snapping at the stubborn man in front of him.

What he said absolutely stunned Kuroro. "W-What do you mean?"

"She asked Aamir to give in to the request of the mafia family of selling her to them. She did that to protect you." Kairo paused when he realized he got Kuroro's full attention. "When that tattoo..." he pointed at the mark on Kuroro's forehead. "... appeared, Etana knew that you'd be in danger. The mafia family demanding for her may even take you in and raise you, then slaughter you in the end for your blood. That is why she convinced your father to do what they asked so that they won't chase after you and then take you away from Padokia district, the place where you were born. It seems like Aamir had heard about Ryuusegai, where the people's identities are not recorded. He left you there and promised he would come back and tell you everything."

Kuroro remained unmoving as he looked Kairo right on his eyes. He's an expert in detecting lies in people's words, but he cannot find one in Kairo's. Everything he told him was the truth. The raven-haired man can't help but just clench his fists. He clutched the coin in his hand tightly.

"How would you know? You're not there 27 years ago."

"I met your father on one of my journeys and Aamir told me everything before he died. It seems like he sensed your presence in me that's why he trusted me instantly."

"Even if he trusted you, he could still lie to you."

"I can tell when a person lies or not, Kuroro." Kairo countered, his voice very serious and _truthful_. "I have lived with liars surrounding me when I was still the CEO of Bethel Companies. I know when a person is telling the truth or not."

Kuroro scoffed, not knowing what else to say. Kairo always had this effect on people. He can easily persuade people, like how he persuaded him to agree into becoming Kurapika's fiancé.

For a moment, Kairo looked at him, until he explained one more thing to the man. "He asked me to give the coin to you. It was Etana's most valued last possession."

When Kuroro still did not speak, Kairo sighed. "Do you want to know where I buried him?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was Kurapika's 30th time walking back and forth the beach and she's getting a little impatient now. How long will their conversation take anyway? With a sigh, she decided to walk back to the mansion. But before she could even reach the doors, Kuroro was already walking out, his hands shoved inside his pockets. He felt somehow different. Like his aura became gloomy and soulful. They approached each other and Kurapika said the first words.

"Should we go now?" she asked but Kuroro shook his head. Actually the Kuruta is dying to know what they talked about and wanted to ask him first thing. However, she decided against it. The man will tell her if he wants to.

"Will you come with me?" he asked and the Kuruta nodded, a little confused.

"Sure. But Uncle Kairo..."

"He'll go back to Gushiken Manor himself. Accompany me to Kirin Island for a while." He requested.

The two immediately boarded one of the yachts and headed towards the said island. Upon arriving, Kurapika realized that the Kurutan shield she and her uncle casted a long time ago is no longer effective. They entered the forest and walked towards the Kirin Mansion, where Kurapika once kept her clan's eyes. The Kuruta wondered what Kuroro would be doing in here.

They finally arrived at the mansion Kurapika followed the man to the backyard garden. She saw how much the place changed, with no one to take care of it. Most of the plants have grown big, especially the flowering ones. Vines were climbing the walls of the mansion and some twigs of the trees were scattered all around. But it still looked beautiful and more natural.

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

Kuroro did not answer. Instead, he recalled Kairo's instruction for him.

_Two stones with melted candles on them. There's a stone tablet with his name and some lavender flowers on it. I've recently put them there._

He looked around, and his eyes finally caught sight of two large stones sitting side by side with melted candles on their surfaces. He walked towards it and kneeled down, brushing away dried flowers below it to see the tablet clearly. Kurapika followed him and kneeled beside the man. When the tablet was cleared, the blonde realized what it was that they're looking at.

A grave.

Kuroro silently traced the named engraved on the epitaph, his hands trembling a little, Kurapika noticed. The blonde bit her lower lip as she observed the sudden changed in Kuroro's face. He was donning a gentle expression, and mush different one at that. She looked down to read the name on the epitaph.

_**Aamir Efraim**_

"So, Efraim is my real surname." Kuroro chuckled a little to himself. "Too bad. I'll always be Lucifer." The Kuruta's eyes widened when Kuroro said those words. He turned his attention to the blonde beside him. "I bet you're dying to know who my father is since that incident at the forest."

She visibly flushed. True, she wanted to know about that. "Is he..." Kurapika trailed off, hoping for Kuroro to fill in the rest for her.

"That's right." The man nodded and returned his gaze at the epitaph. "He's my father, Aamir. And my mother's name is Etana."

"Your mother has a beautiful name." She commented and Kuroro smiled.

"It means 'strong'." He then stopped stroking the name. "I wish she was here." The man whispered to himself, which Kurapika heard nonetheless.

This is the very first time he had seen him display such a weak side of him. So weak that he even called out someone, his mother, for comfort. Somehow, the blonde can feel his emotions. It was as if it his feelings were projected to her. She can sense sadness, happiness, annoyance, and relief.

"You've seen them before." Kuroro continued and the blonde suddenly held his hand that was resting on the stone tablet. He looked at her with a slight smile. "The painting in the book shop."

Kurapika gasped. "Th-They're your parents?"

"That's right." He nodded. "What did you think of them?"

The Kuruta can't help but smile. Kuroro is actually opening himself up, asking her questions about his family. For the first time, they're going to share their thoughts with each other in a while new different topic.

"Your father really looked like you. And your mom... she's very lovely."

"I wonder what they'd say if they find out their son became a criminal." He chuckled again.

"I think they'd tell you to follow what you desire."

Kuroro looked at her and saw the blonde looking affectionately at the epitaph. He can see how her eyes were bordering from blue to faint red. What is she thinking right now? He wanted to know. He hadn't shared his past to anyone before. Maybe because he thought it's all in the past and it doesn't matter. He saw that they were in the same situation. Kurapika is the last female pure-bred Kuruta alive while he is one of the few remaining High Ones with the cross symbol. She possesses the scarlet eyes, a unique trait that only Kurutas have while he has the life-prolonging blood of a High One, also a very rare and most sought after item. If he were a defenceless and ignorant man, he would have died by now, his blood drained out of his body. They both became strong with the help of the painful pasts.

Kuroro was not sure if what Kairo said was the whole truth, but one thing is for sure; he can now let his father rest in peace.

_His last wish was to see you. But since he died before that even came true, you should at least visit his grave. Bring Kurapika with you. Aamir would surely be happy if you introduce your wife to him._

Kairo's words rang inside his head. He smiled and looked at Kurapika. _"Dad, this is her. The woman I'm going to live with for the rest of my life."_

For a while, the two stayed sitting in front of the epitaph, talking about certain things in life, something they haven't done for a while now ever since the whole Kairo chase fiasco started.

For the first time since the chase, he felt truly at peace.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_3 days later..._

The twins, still in their pyjamas, slowly climbed upstairs early that morning, tiptoeing inside a certain room of their new family member, giggling uncontrollably all the way. They gently opened the door and peeked inside, making sure that the person is still asleep. When they saw him still in his slumber, Karin and Krisu continued tiptoeing inside, carefully watching their steps to prevent themselves from tripping accidentally.

They approached the bed and the two climb it carefully. Then, Krisu looked at his sister with a naughty grin plastered on his face.

"At the count of three." He whispered and Karin nodded.

"One"

"Two"

"Three!" they both shouted and jumped up and down the bed. "Grandpa Kairo, waaake uuup!"

Krisu threw himself at the sleeping form and pulled out the blanket. However, the kids were disappointed when they saw no Kairo on the bed.

"Ne, where is he?" Karin asked as she stopped jumping.

"I dunno." Her brother replied.

Suddenly, a two large hand grabbed Karin's and pinned them behind her back.

"Don't move or the pancakes will never get cooked." A 'threatening voice' whispered playfully at her ear.

Karin almost laughed out loud but decided to play along. "Krisu, help!" he called out and her brother immediately stood up and jumped up and down the foam, heading towards her sister.

"I'm coming!" he said in a superhero-like tone and threw himself at Karin's 'kidnapper'. "I got you Grandpa Kairo!" the boy shouted.

"Ahhh! You caught me!" Kairo released Karin and opened his arms to catch Krisu. Then, he lay down on the carpeted floor while hugging the boy. Karin immediately grabbed two pillows and tossed one to her brother, who instantly caught it and started hitting his grandpa.

The twins laughed along with Kairo, until the doors opened. They immediately stopped what they're doing when Kurapika stepped inside the room. She looked at her Uncle then to her twins.

She sighed. "You two go down and eat breakfast. Your father's there. You too, Uncle." She ordered and then walked back downstairs. When she was gone, Karin and Krisu looked at each other and their grandpa stood up.

"All right kids, let's go down now, shall we?" he suggested and followed his niece.

"Pillow fight?" Krisu asked and Karin rolled her eyes annoyingly.

"No." She replied and stood up, clutching her pillow to her chest.

"Oh." Krisu frowned. But suddenly, something soft hit his face, making him stumble down the floor. He looked up and saw his sister laughing and running out of the room. "Karin!" he shouted and also ran out, dragging a pillow with him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

That afternoon, Kuroro and Kurapika had both decided to stay inside the former's study room to discuss about the possibility if the twins inheriting the High Ones' blood. The man told her everything that he and Kairo talked about two days ago and it worried the Kuruta. The twins are almost seven now and if the cross tattoo appears in any part of their body, they'd be in greater danger.

Surely there are people who know about the High Ones. She herself knows about them, but only a little. Actually, the blonde thought that they're just legends, until Kuroro told her about his heritage, which kind of shocked her a little.

The twins are currently playing by the garden with their Grandpa Kairo and are completely enjoying themselves. Her Uncle show knows his way around children. He even agreed about becoming Karin's nen teacher, since they both have the same type of nen.

"Maybe we shouldn't send the twins to school after all." Kuroro suggested, pulling the blond out of her thoughts. "We can just hire a private tutor for them here."

But Kurapika shook her head. "The twins don't like being cooped up in the same place for a long time. They'd get bored and trust me when I say that they'll become wild and uncontrollable."

"Was it that hard?" the man asked.

"Huh?"

"Raising them for the past seven years?"

"Oh." Kurapika paused and looked down for a while. She didn't really raise the twins. It was Nanny Rosa who did the work for her since she's barely home. "Not really. But they can be a handful sometimes."

"I see." He smiled at her and the blonde smiled back. "Now, I'll shift to another topic." He said and the Kuruta looked at him. "How are you going to tell your Uncle that we're not yet married?"

Kurapika stiffened a little. "Uh... maybe tomorrow?" her Uncle Kairo doesn't that they have been separated for seven years and were not yet officially married. She's pretty sure that he will give her an earful and then organize the wedding himself. The twins also don't' know that they're not yet married too. Actually, Kurapika doesn't know how to explain it carefully to them.

"Did I just hear it right?" a sudden voice erupted coming from the doors asked and the two looked at that certain direction. "You're not yet married?"

"Good afternoon, Kairo." Kuroro greeted casually.

"Uh, uncle where are the kids?" Kurapika asked, trying to divert the man's attention.

"They're practicing nen. Now," he walked inside and looked at Kuroro, who was smiling innocently, then back to Kurapika. "What. On. Earth? What have you two been doing in the past seven years that until now, you're still not married? Do Karin and Krisu know?" he asked.

"Nope." Kuroro replied before Kurapika could come up with an excuse. Trust the man to aggravate the situation. The blonde can't help but cast him a glare.

"No? And how do you plan to explain it to those two? Seriously." Kairo sighed as he rested his hands on his hips. "You're making babies even when not yet married? What do you two want to do? Become live in partners? This is a serious thing..." the man trailed off, forcing the couple to listen to his nearly endless tirade. When he was finished he looked at the two.

"Uncle, we're already on it. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Dear child, marriage is a big deal! It will tie the two of you together forever." He said seriously. "Now, when is the date? I don't see some preparations going on."

"Well, there have been some things going in within the company that will have to be taken care of." Kuroro explained as he remembered the anomaly going on in the financial department.

"I'll take care of that. For now, you two should be more worried with your wedding. It should be grand and unique. You'd look very beautiful in a blue wedding dress, my dear." Kairo grinned mischievously.

"I'd prefer it to be private, Uncle. Just family members and friends." Kurapika said and looked at Kuroro. "That's what we agreed on, right?"

Kuroro only shrugged. "We didn't make any definite plans. Anything's fine with me as long as we'll get married." He said and Kurapika almost groaned unbelievably.

"Now then, I'll leave you two in your discussion." Kairo said and started walking out of the room. "I'm going to take care of some things in the company for you two."

Kurapika and Kuroro looked at each other as the man left. Now that he's back, things will surely be livelier than they already are, both inside the manor and the company.

"You know, if really want to choke you right now." The blonde threatened and Kuroro only chuckled amusedly.

Suddenly, the man's phone rang and he took it out of his pocket to answer the call. It was Shalnark calling, maybe with the news about their mission. He pushed the answer button and tucked the phone to his ear.

"Shalnark." He acknowledged and waited for his Spider to answer.

"_Danchou, we caught Hisoka." _The young Spider said and Kuroro's face turned firm.

"Where are you now?" he asked.

"_At NGL, Danchou."_

"Make sure he doesn't escape. I'll be there by tomorrow." Kuroro ordered and then hang up. Kurapika gave him a tentative glance, clearly asking what the call was all about.

"Hisoka has been caught in NGL." He answered and the blonde's eye widened. Kuroro then dialled the number of his assistant to book him a flight to the Yorbian Continent.

"I'm going with you." Kurapika said and he nodded.

They just came home and another issue has come up. Looks like this is the most complicated Christmas they have ever experienced.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note**_**:**__ Okay, the High Ones is actually the product of my wild imagination so if you have any questions, just ask me through a review. I got the High Ones concept from a creature called the 'Deep Ones'. Hahaha. Please Read and Review! I hope this chapter is okay. I'm a superstitious person and I don't like number 13 so I updated once again to have 14 chapters. :) Tee hee..._

**Next:** _With Kairo's return, the whole Bethel Industries are celebrating. Kurapika and Kuroro travel to NGL, mush to the twins' dismay. They do something unexpected that their parents don't know how they managed to do it. Well, they got a little help from a certain lovable grandpa._


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__ I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 15

Kairo Bethel walked briskly towards the room of a certain raven-haired boy, carrying with him what looked like thick, white picture albums between his hands. He stopped in front of the double doors of Krisu's room and knocked gently. The old man had been wondering why his grandchildren did not go out of their rooms yet. The two are usually up early in the morning, running around the mansion, training by the garden, or playing with him.

Furrowing his eyebrows when no one answered his knock, Kairo opted to let himself in. He pushed the doors open and stepped inside. He was instantly greeted by the different cages of animals inside the boy's room. The man had never been in Krisu's room before so it's no surprise that he'd be shocked upon seeing the scenario before him. The place is organized, but kind of crowded due to the fact that some of Krisu's pets are free from their cage.

Kairo roamed his eyes around the room and finally spotted the little boy sitting on his bed, curled up in a ball like an armadillo, with a blanket draping over his small body. Krisu was pouting grandly and is rocking himself back and forth. It seems like he's greatly upset about something. Not far from him, Karin is sitting on a couch, reading one of her books. The little girl looked up and her blue eyes met her grandpa's. She frowned a little and shifted her gaze to her brother.

"Well, looks like you're breeding a zoo here, Krisu-chan." Kairo chuckled as he approached his grandson, closing the door to prevent the animals from escaping. He walked over towards the boy and settled himself beside him. Mr. Blue, the parrot, followed the man with its eyes and kept saying unrelated words. "Look what I brought, albums of your Mom and Dad when they were still... engaged." He said and showed the said albums to the boy. However, Krisu didn't look like he's interested for he just continued moping.

"He's upset." Karin explained as her brother almost let out a little whimper.

"Awww..." Kairo cooed. "Come here to grandpa. Tell me what's wrong." He urged and Krisu finally looked up. The boy moved to his grandpa and sat on his lap, still with the pout he had been wearing. Karin seemed interested as she closed her book and put on to the couch to join her brother and grandpa.

"Mom and Dad will be out again." Krisu started, sounding like he was sobbing. "Christmas is coming and they're going away again. Dad promised that he will take us to a place where it snows." Kaede Gushiken District is one of the places is located in a country that doesn't snow during Christmas.

The boy continued talking and that's how Kairo found out that Kuroro and Kurapika will be going to NGL to settle something there. It made Krisu so upset that he went and tried to stop his parents from going. However, Kurapika scolded him greatly that led to a little tantrum. Their flight to NGL is still this afternoon and the twins resorted to not getting out of their rooms until they have left. It's like their way of showing how disappointed and sad they are.

"Honestly, I'm also kind of upset too." Karin admitted after Krisu finished his story. "I mean, we've been practicing nen very hard so that we can have a family vacation outside the country but they suddenly have something important to do even when Christmas is almost here."

Kairo nodded understandingly as he stroked Krisu's dark strands gently. "Hmmm... why don't you two go with them?" he suggested. Almost instantly, the twins looked at him, giving the man confused and that-idea-is-brilliant looks. "Well, maybe their business in NGL is important but not that dangerous that they'd leave you two here. It's almost Christmas and if they can't come back in time, you two can still be with them. Everyone's happy." He beamed at them and the twins responded with identical wide grins.

But then, Karin frowned. "I don't think they'll let us come with them, Grandpa. Papa and Mama didn't even ask us to come with them." She explained, remembering that their mother would bring them along sometimes to places where she works as long as it's okay and not dangerous.

"Well, do you want to go?" Kairo asked and the two nodded eagerly. Grinning mischievously, he leaned forward and spoke in a low voice. "Here's what I want you two to do..."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Neo-Green Life is a very strict place when it comes to visitors, Hunters, and tourists. Not only do the people there refuse today's technological advances but they also do not allow people from bringing in devices like laptops, cell phones, video cameras and etc. It has been a wonder to both Kuroro and Kurapika how Shalnark managed to slip in his cell phone and call to inform them about Hisoka's capture.

Speaking of Hisoka, Kuroro is actually planning to extract some information regarding the video he and Michael Fuji made seven years ago- a video that caused the separation between him and Kurapika. Until now, his eye would twitch slightly in annoyance when remembering it. The man already had a suspect on who the shape shifter is that disguised as him in the video. He just needed to confirm it with the clown's words and after that, Kurapika will use her Judgement Chain on him with the conditions saying that Hisoka must never ever go after Kuroro, her friends, and her family. Of course, it's up to Gon and Killua if they want to fight the clown but to Kurapika, there's no way she'll let Hisoka do the first move on her best friends. She will also add a condition that will forbid Hisoka from looking for a Jyounen user to remove the blade that she will impose on him.

The couple finally arrived by the entrance of NGL, where their bodies were inspected entirely in order to prevent them from smuggling their mobile phones inside the country. Fortunately, with the help of Kuroro's Fun Fun Cloth ability, they hid their all-so important phones, which they will need if they want to contact Shalnark again.

After the inspection had finished, Kurapika and Kuroro were forced to wear clothes made from natural filaments and not synthetic ones created inside a lab. Then, the two were finally ushered inside the country.

Green fields greeted them and the soft breeze smelled refreshing. The place was a sight to behold. It was the most naturalistic country Kurapika had ever seen. The people were slowly recovering their lives after the Chimera Ant invasion and are stabilizing their nation as much as they can.

"Horses." Kurapika said and saw a nearby stable, housing many horses- the main transportation of the people here. "And renting is ridiculously high." She added upon seeing the sign.

"And useless." Kuroro mused. "It'd be faster if we just run."

Nodding to his suggestion, Kurapika readied herself and, at Kuroro's signal, they both bolted north with incredible speed. Running really proved to be faster than renting horses in this place.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Whoa! So fast!" Krisu exclaimed breathlessly as he watched his parents run almost in the speed of lightning behind a tree. Beside him, Karin also nodded in agreement, her eyes widening when she witnessed the incredible skill of her Mama and Papa. The little blonde stopped using Ten and so did her brother, and the two walked out of their hiding place together.

"Now, how are we supposed to know where they are right now?" she voiced out her question to the wind and Krisu looked at her.

"Ne, the pearls really worked, didn't they?" he asked and she nodded with a smile.

_**Several hours ago...**_

"What's this?" Krisu asked as he fingered long necklace with a small white pearl as its pendant. It was given to him by his Grandpa Kairo when he left his room wand came back once again. On his left, his sister is also holding the same kind of necklace, only that it has a black orb as its ornament. She scrutinized it inch by tantalizing inch, like a detective in a crime scene, and looked at her grandfather, confusion etched on her face.

With a smile, Kairo took the necklace from the boy and held it up for the twins to see. He, too, fingered the pear and then gestured Krisu to come closer to him. The boy scrambled to his knees and pushed himself towards his grandpa. Kairo then put the neck lace around the boy's neck and looked down at him.

"Now, try using Ten. You know Ten, right?" the man ordered and asked and the boy nodded.

Krisu took in a deep breath before closing his eyes. He imagined himself being enveloped like some sort of sticky material, cool and smooth at the same time. For a while, Karin and Kairo just stared with their eyes, and, with Kairo using Gyou, he saw how much the boy had easily mastered one of the basic principles of Nen. Usually, a normal person would take many months to open their aura nodes, and a few more months to master Ten. However, in the twins' case, they managed to master Ten in just few short weeks. Maybe it's already in their blood since their father is a descendant of the High Ones, the original discoverers of Nen.

Suddenly, when Krisu's Ten was complete; he disappeared, like bubbles suddenly disappearing into thin air when pricked. Karin almost stood up in shock if not for her grandpa who grabbed her hand, as if telling her to stay calm. She couldn't feel her brother- his presence, his aura, his movements, his physical body... everything. It's like his overall existence suddenly disappeared in the face of the earth.

"W-What's happening?" Karin managed to croak out when she sensed that this is no longer normal.

Kairo chuckled softly and smiled. "You can stop Ten now, Krisu-chan." He said and almost instantly, the boy reappeared with a grin on his face.

"That was so cool, Grandpa!" Krisu exclaimed and jumped up and down excitedly, taking his sister aback.

The man held out his pal to Karin and the girl gave the black pearl necklace to him. "This is no ordinary necklace." Kairo began and smiled at them. "I found this pair on one of my journeys. These necklaces are ancient artefacts with special abilities in them." He explained. "Try using Gyou and tell me what you two see."

With a brief nod, the twins used Ren and tried to concentrate their nen on their eyes. Gyou is one of the advanced techniques that the two were practicing when their parents were out on their search for their grandpa. They haven't mastered it completely yet but they can use Gyou for a fair amount of time.

Karin suddenly gasped. "N-nen!"

"Pink nen!" Krisu said cheerfully, clearly fascinated by what he sees. A few moments later, the two finally retired from using Gyou and turned their attention to Kairo, waiting for him to explain what they saw inside the pearls.

"Alright, now. These pearls, as far as you know, contains nen inside them. Once you also use nen, these pearls will activate themselves and become one with your aura, providing you with its special abilities. In this case, it can completely erase your existence, and when I say _completely_, it means that no powerful nen user, not even your Mom and Dad, will be able to detect you. These necklaces were once used by professional assassins a long time ago, but they are rarely found these days." The man explained thoroughly and both Karin and Krisu understood it completely.

"So, it's like you're implying that we should use the pearls' ability to follow Mama and Papa to NGL secretly, even though you know we're still six years old and very young, meaning we could get into trouble or accident without anyone knowing and without anyone there to help us." Karin said as calmly as possible.

"That's right." Kairo beamed at them childishly, despite his age.

A vein unconsciously popped at the little blonde's forehead as she stared right at her grandpa. "Are you kidding me, Grandpa?" Karin almost snapped at him, making Krisu jerk back slightly in shock. "Do you know how reckless and naive Krisu is?"

"Hey!" the raven-haired boy annoyingly called out to his sister, pouting grandly at her revelation.

Kairo, taken aback, could only stare back at her. But then, he broke into a soft laughing fit.

"This is not funny, Grandpa!" the blonde scolded the older man.

"Hai, hai." Kairo laughed a little more before stopping. He didn't expect this little girl to have some of her mother's personality as well. "Hmmm, it's up to you whether you'd like to follow your Mama and Papa. Think of this as your little adventure. You two haven't been out in a while, right?"

Upon hearing the word 'adventure', Krisu's eyes suddenly lit up as he pounced on his sister. Karin gave out a strangled yelp and found herself lying on the bed, with Krisu looming over her, shaking her shoulders strongly.

"We should do this, Karin! Please! Please! Adventure! Come on!" the boy pleaded and Kairo chuckled at how adorable Krisu is. He even imagined Kuroro having the same cheerful personality as his son. He shuddered at the thought.

"Get off!" Karin grunted and pushed her brother away then pushed herself up in a sitting position. "It's a bad idea and it spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Especially for you." She jabbed a finger on her brother's forehead. "When Mama and Papa finds out about this, who knows what they'll do." She reasoned out and pulled away her poking finger.

"Ne, I haven't seen Daddy angry." Krisu mischievously said, eyeing Karin intently.

The girl sighed again. _"I have."_ She added mentally in her head as she remembered the day in the zoo, where she was nearly kidnapped. For a moment, she saw the intensity in her father's eyes when he grabbed her away from the kidnapper. The girl can't believe how angry he is. It probably emanated from his body and was a very scary sight to see that even Krisu would be terrified speechless.

"Well, I'm going now. I still have a lot of work to do. I'll leave the pearls in your care for the mean time, okay?" Kairo said as he stood up and walked out of Krisu's room, but not before giving them a very knowing wink.

The twins were finally left alone to ponder on their grandfather's suggestion of following their parents. Karin eyed the door where Kairo disappeared into while Krisu continued pestering her into doing the 'adventure' together with the help of the pearls. Seriously, the boy can be very persistent if he wants something.

Somehow, somewhere inside her head, Karin cannot deduce her Grandpa Kairo's real personality. It's like he's someone whom people can't read easily.

"_Just what are you thinking?"_ the girl asked inside her head. Unknown to her, her father is has been silently asking the same question inside his head.

_**Back to the present time...**_

"I still think this is a bad idea." Karin said with a stubborn streak in her voice.

"Ne, ne, Karin, it's not like we're committing a crime or something." Krisu replied with his enthusiastic voice, more excited than before.

When Karin finally gave in to his whims, he felt much more energetic than ever. He's still a child after all and things like going into an adventure always delighted his young mind. He's not like Karin, who's more mature and serious when it comes to dealing with crucial things. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have any talent at all. Like his mother, Krisu is good in computing data and analysing information. He's also very reckless and does not think about the consequences first (like his mother) before acting. His actions are also mostly governed by his emotions (like his mother), which were mostly excitement and enthusiasm. The boy can be very stubborn, too, and rarely gives up an argument (like Kurapika). When he feels like he's losing, he would just turn away with an angry 'hmp' (so much like Kurapika).

And he mostly loses arguments against Karin (like Kurapika to Kuroro).

But today is one of the rare moments that his sister would give in to him. Krisu can practically tell that she's very curious as to what business their parents are doing in NGL, however, she's more careful at the cost of their actions and would prefer to not satisfy her curiosity at the matter.

Maybe she's only using Krisu's persistence to have an excuse in doing this.

"Yosh! Let's go find them!" the boy suddenly yelled and ran towards the same direction their parents did. He's also very good in tracking people, being taught by his Gon-niisan and Killua-niisan in an early age.

"Oi! Krisu! Wait up!" Karin also shouted and used nen to empower her steps.

The twins then disappeared, treading the wide grassland, heading towards north. With Krisu leading the way, they might find Kuroro and Kurapika in no time.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The duo walked towards the exit of the forest, knowing that at the other side, Shalnark and the other members of the Spiders will be waiting for them, with their captured target. Somehow, Kurapika felt uneasy and Kuroro noticed, but they just continued walking, trying to conserve their nen just in case. They wouldn't want to stumble upon man-faced apes again or any creepy creatures for that matter.

The Kuruta is actually pondering about something. She had been bothered about this for a while and now opted to ask Kuroro about it.

"Kuroro," she called out and the man shifted his eyes to look at her. ", what will happen if the mark will really appear once the twins turn seven?" Kurapika asked, not taking her eyes off the trail.

For a moment, Kuroro stayed silent and the Kuruta waited, until he spoke, "They'd become even more powerful. Like your scarlet eyes, the High One's mark is the symbol that their hidden potentials can now easily wake up."

"I see." Kurapika replied. The twins have inherited her scarlet eyes and it would be a peculiar yet interesting combination if they also inherited Kuroro's blood. Imagine, a Kuruta and a High One, people with unique traits, are combined together inside two different bodies.

"I wonder," Kuroro suddenly spoke, making the blonde turn to look at him. "...how powerful they may be when they grow up." He smiled, a proud smile of a parent, Kurapika noticed. He may not show it but deep inside him, he's proud of the twins' achievements all this time.

"Karin will grow up to become a worthy rival for you." Kurapika assumed with challenging smirk.

Kuroro blinked once, and then continued smiling lightly. "A rival, eh?" he mused. The man had never thought of that before. He always considered himself as someone who cannot be equalled easily by any combatant. The idea of having a rival also never entered his mind, until now. He and Kurapika never considered each other as rivals and none of the Elite Seven or the Spiders could also stand as his rival.

However, Karin... is much different. She had so much potential and is very similar to Kuroro in some ways. He'd wait for the day that his little girl would grow up to be a talented and strong nen user and they could have a friendly match. Yes, Karin can surpass him someday without a doubt, but she still has a long way to go.

They continued walking and finally sighted the exit of the forest. They then hastened their paces and after a few seconds, they were out of the woods. The sight that greeted the two was just what they expected. The Spiders were all there, some sitting, some standing. Hisoka was also there, playing with some cards, looking relaxed. However, some of the Spiders, specifically Machi, Feitan, Nobunaga, and Franklin, are keeping a close watch over him, making sure he doesn't do anything funny at all.

Kuroro's eyes narrowed slightly when the clown looked at him and then chuckled. Kurapika felt disgusted upon seeing him, but opted to stay quiet for a while, waiting for Kuroro to make his first move.

"Danchou." Shalnark greeted as he approached him. He also turned to Kurapika with a smile. "Kurapika-sama." He acknowledged.

"How did you catch him?" Kuroro asked straight away.

"Well, we kind of cornered him while he was fighting."

"Fighting?" Kurapika asked this time.

"Apparently, there are some Chimera Ants hiding around NGL and Hisoka's looking for them, searching for some entertainment by fighting them, maybe." Shalnark replied and Kuroro nodded in understanding. "He detected our presence but he must have known that he has no real chance against the six of us."

"I see." The leader replied and looked at Kurapika. "Do it."

The blonde nodded and slowly approached Hisoka, who is sitting on a rock playing with his deck of cards. He had the same expression on his face when he looked up and greeted Kurapika's aquamarine eyes with his own, giving him a knowing stare. The blonde however, did not falter as she stopped a few meters away from the dangerous man. The Spiders were all alert, ready for anything that might happen. But they knew that Hisoka is not foolish enough to go against the eight of them, especially now that Kuroro has arrived.

"Well, hello Kurapika. You sure ripened deliciously." Hisoka said as he gave the blonde an examining look. "I suppose Gon has ripened as well."

Kurapika furrowed her eyebrows. "Stay away from my friends." She hissed at him, knowing that Hisoka would one day go after them.

She then materialized her chains and this time, the demented jester frowned a little. Not far from them, Kuroro had his arms crossed, but had his mind and body alert as he watched the blonde do her part of the plan. Kurapika summoned her judgement chain, which floated in the air. Her eyes are now glowing red and Hisoka can't help but stare at those orbs.

Suddenly, without fair warning, the Judgement chain flew quickly at Hisoka, piercing his left chest where hi heart is located. Shocked, the clown could only jolt at the impact. But then, he chuckled until it turned into a maniacal laugh. He can still see Kurapika's nen chains connected to her pinkie. It did not disappear yet since she hasn't stated her conditions for him.

"I knew you'd do something like this." He said as he felt the chains wrapped around his heart. "But I though this particular chain is only for the Spiders. I guess things changed, eh, Kurapika?"

"You are in no position to talk, Hisoka." Kurapika replied hastily. "Here's my condition- answer my question honestly." The blonde then took in a deep breath and poke. "Who was the person who impersonated Kuroro in the video that Michael Fuji gave me?"

"Illumi Zoaldyeck." The clown answered honestly as expected and Kuroro wasn't surprised at all. He now confirmed it.

Kurapika was also not shocked since the only person she knew that can change faces is Killua's older brother. "Now, I still have more conditions with me." She hissed at him. "First, you are not allowed to go after Gon, Killua, Leorio, Kuroro, me and my family as well." Hisoka's eyes narrowed at that. "Second, you are not allowed to find a Jyounen user and remove the nen blade." The blonde stopped there and recalled the conditions, making sure there's no loophole in them. After seeing there's none, she continued. "That's all. Do you agree to this?" she asked.

Hisoka chuckled. "Hmmm... seeing that I have no choice, I agree. At least you did not deprive me of my nen."

Ignoring his last comment, Kurapika pulled out her Judgement chain, leaving the blade inside his beating heart. Hisoka raised one hand and put it above his left chest, feeling if the cold metal is really there. The blonde walked away from him towards Kuroro. The raven-haired man smiled down at her.

"Good job." He said and she rolled her eyes.

"Let's go back quickly. You do realize it's already the 23rd of December." Kurapika replied and sat down on a rock nearby.

Kuroro turned to his Spiders and gave them his final order, which is to keep a watchful eye on the clown until they completely left the area. Then, the Spiders will disperse and never bother with the clown once more.

Hisoka sat silently, shuffling his cards. He did not show it really but he's very pissed off at the thought that the blonde just forbade him to fight Gon or Killua. But he also knew that if he didn't agree, the Spiders will just tear him off into pieces, even without the help of their Danchou. Just then, from the corner of his eyes, he saw a tiny bush shaking nearby. The clown took one card from his deck, covered it with Shu, and suddenly threw it right at the middle of the said bush. Machi had seen what he did but just thought that he's just playing around with his cards again like what he would always do when he's bored.

However, she thought wrong.

Right after Hisoka's card had hit the bushes; they all heard a familiar yelp. It was too human to come from an animal and everyone in the area looked at the direction of the sound.

"Karin!" the squeal of a young boy then filled the air and both Kurapika and Kuroro can't help but tense up.

Two figures appeared from the bushes. Two familiar and important figures that made Kurapika's heart beat very fast.

_Damn it. _The Kuruta cursed inwardly. _This can't be true._

Right in front of them, so real and so true, Krisu and Karin are in plain sight. The latter was kneeling on the ground clutching what looked like a necklace with a round, black pendant. Krisu on the other hand, is holding his sister's hand, looking at her worriedly.

"Karin, Krisu." Kurapika whispered and almost walked towards the two. Fortunately, Kuroro took hold of her arm and stopped her. The raven-haired man gestured for Machi to go and fetch the twin. It seems like the blue-haired woman doesn't know who the two are since she hasn't met them yet. However, she did hear from Shalnark that Kurapika had given their Danchou twins.

She approached the two slowly, noting that Hisoka had taken interest with the two since he also stood from his seat and eyed the twins with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Don't move from where you are." Kuroro ordered the clown with obvious sternness in his voice. The clown complied and did not move, but he continued watching as Machi lead the two children to Kurapika and Kuroro.

Krisu immediately hugged his father's leg while Karin stood in front of Kurapika, head bowed in obvious regret. With those actions, Hisoka's lips curved into a sly smirk.

"Do like what I told you." Kuroro said to Shalnark and carried Krisu, who had his hands wide open. Kurapika took Karin's hand and the four of them teleported out of the place with the help of Kuroro's teleportation skill.

"That's odd." Hisoka said thoughtfully as he eyes the direction of the bushes where he threw the card. He swore that he applied Shu on the card, but when he used Gyou, he can't find it. "Where did my card go?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After Kairo returned from his seven years of mysterious disappearance, the revived the Bethel Island Mansion in no time and decided to have his private office there. He would travel back and forth from the Gushiken manor to there. However, Kaede Gushiken District and Morei City are thousands of miles away so how does he manage to travel there quickly?

The answer to that lies in his Specialization ability- _dangerous _Specialization ability.

Kairo looked around his office while sitting on his swivel chair comfortably. It has been a while since he last seated himself in this very room inside Bethel Manor. He missed it so much. The man will be working behind the scenes of the Bethel Companies and will only show himself occasionally to lend a hand to Kuroro. But it seems like Kuroro doesn't need his help seeing that he managed to make the company prosper in a few years.

Kairo's eyes travelled down on his table, where a lone joker card that belonged to a certain red-haired clown is lying. He took it and examined the said card. It was the same joker card that was thrown to his grandchildren and nearly hit Karin. He chuckled and threw the card into a nearby trash bin.

"I should stop doing this." Kairo said as he leaned back on his chair and clasped his hands. "I don't have much time."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** _OOkkkkaaayyy... hello everyone! I'm back... after almost two weeks of absence (it's kinda new to me). I regret to tell you all that updates will start slowing down starting June 13 (my classes will start that day). Sorry I wasn't able to update until now. My father arrived from a very far place and we decided to have a family week, where we all just enjoy the hot sun on the beach before he leaves once again. So, I give you Chapter 15. Hope you all like it. Read and review!_

**Next:** _Uh-oh... the twins are in trouble. As parents, what will Kurapika and Kuroro give them as punishment for following them? And what will be their reaction when they find out that it was actually Kairo who suggested such dangerous idea to them? Now, how will the family enjoy their Christmas together?_


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

_**Warning:**__ A chapter with too much __**fluff**__, __**OOC-ness**__ and __**adult themes**__! Please forgive me, the author, ne? And nobody beta-read this so prepare for the wrong grammars and spellings! :D_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 16

Christmas

It did not take long for Kurapika and Kuroro to find a nearby city outside NGL that will accommodate them for the night until their flight on the next day, early morning. They found a suitable hotel for them to stay in with the twins and they also grabbed dinner on the lobby of the said hotel.

Speaking of the twins, none of them dared to say the first word. Kurapika is giving the cold shoulder treatment and Kuroro is highly amused watching how the blonde would discipline the two. She knows the personality of the twins more than he does so he let Kurapika do the punishment part.

Although he didn't expect it to be like this.

Krisu and Karin sat on the other side of the room, clearly moping, except the latter choose to be stoic about it. Kurapika has just recently grounded them for the rest to the Christmas holidays so they would learn their lesson in following them. However, Kuroro thought it's too much, though he did not voice his thoughts out loud. The children were supposed to be enjoying their time for the coming Christmas Eve and he already purchased four tickets for a 6-day Christmas cruise that will start on December 24, 6 pm.

Sighing, Kuroro walked away from the balcony of their hotel room and stepped inside to avoid the cold air. He was greeted by the same sight; Kurapika silently writing something on a notebook and the twins still sitting at the corner of the room, heads bowed down in disappointment. The raven-haired man sauntered towards Kurapika and sat on the space of the couch beside her.

"I think that's enough." He whispered to her, referring to the twin's punishment of being grounded, but Kurapika did not look at him as she spoke.

"Enough? I'm just getting started." She replied icily, still writing.

"It's Christmas, Kurapika." He reasoned out while giving the kids a side glance. "Just give your punishment some other time."

"You're getting soft, Kuroro."

"Am I?" Kuroro chuckled and the Kuruta finally closed her notebook to look at him.

"You talk to them." She said with a stern voice and the man just smiled.

"Karin, Krisu" Kuroro called out and the twins both looked up to look at their father. He gestured for them to come to him and the two reluctantly stood up from their seats and walked towards him. Krisu and Karin obviously avoided their mother's stare as they came closer, until they finally reached the couch where their parents sat.

"Papa." Karin said as she climbed up the couch to sit beside him. At the same time, Krisu took his favourite place; Kuroro's lap.

"Well, where should I start?" Kuroro whispered in a soft tone as he gently hugged his son, who rested his little hed on his chest. "First off, how were you two able to follow us, hmm?" he asked and Krisu looked at Karin, expecting her to answer the question.

With a sigh, which always meant a 'yes' to Krisu, the little blonde took out the same pearl necklace from her pocket and showed it to her father. Kuroro looked at the item before him and, out of instinct, he used Gyou. He saw the same pink nen residing inside the black pearl. Kurapika also looked at the pearl, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Who gave you that?" Kuroro asked and this time, it was Krisu who answered.

"Grandpa." The boy said, earning an irritated groan from Kurapika.

"That's it. That man has gone too far." The blonde declared and stood up from her seat then stormed out of the room while clutching her phone. It seems like she's going to make an important call to a certain uncle of hers and she has to do it somewhere that the twins can't hear her tongue-lashing.

"So, how does this necklace work?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kairo Bethel sat idly inside of his usual study room, eyes closed and body unmoving. If watched from afar, one could say that he's just taking a momentary break from his work, resting his eyes and body. However, that is not the case and some things are meant to be kept a secret for the sake of others.

Suddenly, Kairo heard his phone ringing madly on his desk. Sighing audibly, he sat up properly and grabbed the device, pressing the 'Answer' button then tucking it to his left ear.

"Hello? Kairo Bethel speaking."

"Uncle!" came Kurapika's very infuriated voice that Kairo had to pull away the phone from his ear before putting it back again. "That was the last straw! What were you thinking? Helping the twins in following us? What are you going to do if something happens to them, huh?..." the Kuruta trailed off.

"Kurapika, dear, clam down will you?"

"Calm down? You're asking me to calm down?"

"Yes, I am. You're more rational than this." Kairo replied calmly as possible, careful not to infuriate the woman further. "Well, it's not like I sent them out without protection. I wouldn't allow anyone to harm my dear grandchildren."

"That was still uncalled for, Uncle. What if they get hurt? Did you know that Karin was nearly harmed by our enemy?" the blonde retorted, reminiscing what happened to her only daughter and still getting pissed at just thinking about it.

"Well, they didn't get hurt, did they? My, my, Kurapika, you never learn to trust me."

"How could I, you-." Kurapika paused for a while before continuing. "This is insane. Do this again and you can't imagine what I'll do to you."

"Hai, hai." Kairo chuckled and he imagined the Kuruta on the other line furrowing her eyebrows in his inappropriate response. "So, why don't you just enjoy your time with your family now, hm? Bye." Before Kurapika could even reply, Kairo already hung up and turned his phone off to prevent any further calls from Kurapika. Maybe he was a little out of line this time.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kurapika stormed back to their hotel room, still pissed off at her uncle hanging up on her. She tried to call once again so she could give the man a piece of her mind, but it seems like he smartly turned his cell phone off. It only pissed her off some more. When she arrived at their room, she saw Kuroro sitting on the bed, he back resting on the headrest while the twins huddle close to him as he flipped the pages of some sort of book.

"What's that?" she asked as she walked towards the bed and sat on the edge.

Then, both Karin and Krisu looked at each other before getting up and jumping down to saunter towards their mother. The twins stood in front of her and Kurapika had to furrow her eyebrows at their peculiar behaviour. Karin started first.

"Ma, we're very very very sorry for what we did. Please say you forgive us." She said with a low voice.

"Actually, it was my fault. Karin didn't want to follow you first but I insisted. Sorry, Mom." Krisu added, head bowed low.

Well, this is new. Kurapika looked at Kuroro, suspicious that he has something to do with this behaviour. The man only smiled at her as he watched the three of them while closing the book he's holding. The blonde turned back her attention to the kid and spoke in a firm voice.

"Do you know that what you two did today is very wrong?" she asked seriously and the two nodded. "Do you promise not to do it again?" Another pair of nods. "Do you guys know the consequences of what you did today?" they nodded again. "And did your father tell you to say those things?"

Krisu nodded offhandedly and Karin looked at him in pure horror.

"I mean... I..." Krisu stuttered when he realized his mistake and tried to correct it.

Kurapika looked at Kuroro again, with a light glare this time, but the man took it as a smile. True, he made up those scripts for the twins to say once their mother return. He just didn't expect for Kurapika to uncover it in just a short time.

"Now, what's the catch in this?" the blonde asked irritatingly. Just then, Kuroro took out his wallet and fished the four tickets he purchased for the 6-day Christmas cruise. He got out of he bed and sat beside the Kuruta, and then handed one ticket to her.

Kurapika looked at the ticket, then to her twins, and saw the twinkle in their eyes. She returned her attention and read the contents of the little paper on her hand. Her eyes widened a little and a slight smile escaped her lips.

"So, this is what it's all about." She said and heard Kuroro hum a little.

"Please, Mommy? Can we ride a big ship? Please?" Krisu pleaded in excitement and even urged his sister in joining him in his persuasion. The little blonde, however, shrugged and did not say anything.

"A cruise?" she asked, her eyebrows rising indiscreetly.

"You don't like it? I thought you love the sea." Kuroro commented, remembering that Kurapika really loved the sea and enjoys walking on the shore.

"How many destinations?" Kurapika asked again.

"Five."

The blonde was quiet for a while and contemplated on her decision. Then, with an audible sigh, she closed her eyes and looked down on her kids. "Would you like to go?" she asked and the two nodded eagerly. To tell the truth, the twins have never been on a boat before, even on a simple boat ride on a lake or the ocean. Then, Kurapika nodded. "Alright." She finally said at length and the twins jumped up in excitement. "On one condition." She quickly added before they start running around the room. "You two are not allowed to walk off alone. Either me, your father or a chaperone will accompany you, understand?" the two nodded, slightly disappointed.

"Yes, Ma." Karin said and together with Krisu, the two climbed up the bed again.

Kurapika turned to Kuroro. "And you're going to help me babysit them fulltime." She commanded him and the man can't do anything but just smile a sideways smile and give a nod.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_December 24__th__, Lady Claire Cruise Ship..._

It's Christmas Eve and everyone is having a good time spending it with the people they love. The weather is cold and everyone's dressed in their best winter clothes to get the warmth they crave for. Lady Claire Cruise will leave in about a few minutes now; ready for a 6-day journey all over the world's five most famous and beautiful places.

The ship itself is very luxurious and unbelievably humungous. Everything inside it is lush and very expensive, something that held the passengers awed. The deck is very wide and it has a large swimming pool on it, complete with chaises, although it will be rarely used because of the cold. It also has a spacious room for recreational activities such as billiards, ping pong, chess, and many more. Not only that, it also has a workout room for men, music room for anyone who likes to karaoke throughout the Christmas holidays, and a sauna room, too. There's also a big hall where special events are held and a very luxurious restaurants that are exclusively for the wealthy passengers.

The cabin where Kuroro is staying with his family is of first class and has two rooms; one room with a queen size bed and the other with two identical single beds for the twins. There's also a dressing room, bathroom, comfort room and a white Christmas tree at the corner of the couple's room. Of course, he would want the best for them. He can see how excited his children were when they boarded the ship and settled themselves inside their rooms. Honestly, he didn't know what to give them as his present during Christmas. He's very clueless about the holiday since he pretty much didn't experience it during his childhood. Well, he did remember receiving a book from his mother and how he gladly gave her a necklace that he made himself in return.

Frowning slightly, Kuroro coldly pushed aside those memories and tried to focus himself on what's going on. Right now, the twins are exploring the ship with the ship's captain, Captain Hughes, who is actually a great family friend on the Bethel family, specifically of Kairo. Kurapika was reluctant at letting the twins go, but Kuroro managed to convince her to just let them be for a while. It also looks like Captain Hughes is very fond of the twins and volunteered himself to take care of them for a while. Truth to tell, he's actually looking forward to have some private time with his woman since they rarely even had time for each other. Problems keep popping up out of nowhere and they had to do something about it. Fortunately, Kairo kind-heartedly volunteered to handle the robbery issue within the company. It is also the old man's way of showing how sorry he was for getting the twins in trouble yesterday.

Sighing, Kuroro closed the book he was reading and pinched the bridge of his nose lightly. Then, he felt an unnoticeable rumble from the ship, indicating that it's already starting. He looked out of the window of their room and saw the images moving slightly. The time on the wall clock says 6 o'clock, time for their luxurious cruise to start. Getting the tickets was not that hard, really. Lady Claire Cruise is one of the most expensive cruises in the whole world, but Kuroro managed to get them by just mentioning the Bethel family.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Kurapika leaning on the railings of the ship, watching the movement as it sailed the sea. There's a light smile on her face as the sea breeze gently caressed her skin and blew her hair. Also smiling to himself, Kuroro got up and approached the lone figure.

"Enjoying yourself so far?" he asked as he snaked his arms around her slender waist. He felt the blonde tense up a little before she relaxed into his embrace.

"Mmhmm..." Kurapika hummed softly as Kuroro rested his chin on her shoulders and watched the ship gaining more speed. "You're unusually clingy today." The blonde commented amusingly.

"It can't be helped." He replied and his lips accidentally (or in Kurapika's mind, purposely) brushed against the joint of her neck and shoulder. "Now I understand what you meant when you said the twins can be very handful sometimes."

"Glad you did." She said and shivered lightly when the man's hold on her waist tightened a little. Kurapika turned around to face the man and she ended up with her back leaning against the cold railings. A hand crawled up to Kuroro's forehead and she touched the cross tattoo there. "It really is a peculiar marking." She whispered and the man hummed. "When's your birthday, Kuroro?"

Kuroro can't help but be slightly shocked at the sudden change to topic. He stared at her for a while before shrugging. "Does it even matter?" he asked and released one arm to cup the blonde's chin, tilting it a little. Then, he suddenly captured those soft lips into his own. He heard Kurapika moan a little and he smiled upon receiving such reaction from her.

But then, the blonde forcefully pull away just when he was seeking entrance inside her. "Yes, it does. When is it?" she asked once again, earning a light frown from the man.

"And why would it matter?"

"Because it's your birthday. I want to..." then Kurapika paused, feeling a little embarrassed with what she was about to say. But she mentally slapped herself before continuing where she left out. "... I want to celebrate it with you." There, she said it.

For a moment, Kuroro just looked at her. But then, he let a little smile grace his lips. "Birthdays are really trivial things, but if you really want to know, I'll tell you." He said. "Christmas Eve."

The blonde furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

"It's today. December 24 is my birthday."

Seeing that he's not joking, Kurapika groaned frustratingly. "What the heck, Kuroro?" she said angrily and broke free of his embrace, walking inside the room once again. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Don't get so worked up about it, Kurapika." Kuroro replied and followed her inside. He saw her sitting on the bed with a grand frown on her face, clearly telling him how angry she is. Kuroro sat down beside her.

Just when he sat down, Kurapika suddenly stood up and faced him. "Stand up." She ordered and then walked towards the wardrobe, pulling it open.

"Those are my clothes, Kurapika." Kuroro pointed out but the blonde didn't listen. She just aimlessly rummaged through his stuff, until she pulled out what looked like his pair black tuxedo, minus the ties and the ribbon.

"Wear this." Kurapika ordered and shoved the clothes to his face. "And don't ask questions."

Kuroro can't help but feel something bad will happen next. He nodded and proceeded towards the dressing room to change. When he was gone, Kurapika immediately opened a smaller wardrobe at the other side of the room and also rummaged through the clothes inside. A few minutes later, she pulled out an elegant blue-green chiffon cocktail dress with watercolour floral patterns. At first, the blonde looked at it with clear repulsion. It was Kuroro who shoved the dress inside her luggage, saying that she might need it and it doesn't hurt to be prepared. Well, who would have thought that she would really need it?

Shaking those thoughts away, Kurapika closed the wardrobe and proceeded in the bathroom to change her clothes, too.

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Kuroro glanced at his wrist watch and frowned. It has been fifty minutes and Kurapika still hasn't emerged out of the bathroom. He had finished changing twenty minutes ago and is now waiting for Kurapika to come out. Whatever she has inside her head, he's sure it wouldn't be so bad. The twins are currently exploring the control room of the ship excitedly and insisted that they have eaten dinner already with Captain Hughes. They were supposed to eat dinner together but it seems like the plans changed.

So here he is now, still waiting. A few more minutes later, the door of the bathroom finally clicked open and the person Kuroro had been waiting for finally came out. But for a moment, it seems like he's not sure whether she's really Kurapika or not. Well, Kuroro had seen her in a few dresses before, but this one is different. But it's not really the dress that made the blonde in front of him very captivating and entrancing, but the fact that she clearly put some effort in making herself look good.

This is a new side of Kurapika that he had never seen before. And he liked it.

A faint pink blush can't help but make its way to the Kuruta's cheeks when she found Kuroro staring blankly at her.

"Uh... can you help me with something?" she asked, a little unsure.

"What is it?"

"Can you zip me up?" the reason Kurapika was 'trapped' inside the bathroom longer than she intended was because of the dress. She didn't expect it to come with a long zipper at the back that starts down her waist all the way up. Zipping it by herself didn't do the trick.

Kuroro stood up from the couch and approached her. Then, the blonde turned around and he took hold of the small metal zipper and zipped the dress up.

"There." He said and began breathing again. He didn't know he was holding his breath the whole time. The thought amused him slightly. "So, are we going to have a dinner date tonight?" he asked with a chuckle, trying to distract himself.

"No questions." Kurapika firmly said, still flushing visibly. Why the hell can't she stop reacting this way? Is it because she had never done something like this before? "Let's go."

She walked out of their room and Kuroro offered his arm for her to take. Kurapika reluctantly took it and wrapped her own arms around his. Actually, the Kuruta is fairly nervous on what she's about to do tonight.

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The couple arrived inside the most luxurious restaurant found in the cruise ship and they were ushered towards one table for two. There were fairly a few people inside, making it more exclusive than any of the other restaurants around. Kurapika actually managed to reserve one table with the help of Captain Hughes. She called him while changing inside the bathroom and asked him to treat to children to dinner for their plans abruptly changed.

Kuroro better not be lying about his birthday or she'll strangle him to death.

The two sat on the table that was reserved for them and noticed a few looks directed towards them. Well, it is an exclusive cruise ride after all. It's only natural that some of them would recognize Kuroro, the famous and wealthy businessman, who's the currently president of the Bethel Group of Companies.

As Kurapika read the delicious-looking menu of the restaurant, she can't help but feel a pair of dark orbs staring at her.

"What is it?" the blonde asked and took her eyes off the menu to look at him.

"You don't have to do this, you know." Kuroro said as he clasped his hands and rested his chin on them. "I haven't celebrated my birthday for years so-."

"Better get used to it." Kurapika interrupted suddenly, telling the waiter of her order. Kuroro also read the menu quickly and decided to have the same food as her.

"Well, maybe I should. I get to see you wear a dress willingly." He chuckled and the Kuruta grunted a little. "And you wore a little make up too."

The blonde blushed. Is it too obvious? She just reluctantly put a little cheek blush and faint lipstick. She didn't expect the man to notice it. Well, what's the use in putting it on her face if she didn't want him to notice it?

"I really appreciate this." Kuroro whispered audibly with a smile. "But next time, don't make such a big deal about it. You don't have to push yourself."

"I'm not that fragile, Kuroro." Kurapika replied with a little frown. "And I think you're the one who shouldn't make such a big deal about things."

"And why would you think about that?"

The blonde sighed. "The scarlet eyes and this cruise ride."

"They're important things."

"And so is your birthday, you jerk." She rolled her eyes. "And if you say otherwise, I'm going to drill it in your head."

Kuroro chuckled again at her fair warning. Knowing Kurapika, she could be very stubborn if she puts her mind into it.

"You look beautiful, by the way." He said as if it's not very obvious already. The other who're looking at them would be able to see the way Kuroro is looking at the woman in front of him. His usually cold eyes were filled with an emotion akin to affection.

"T-Thanks."

A few minutes later, their appetizer arrived and they ate silently, occasionally talking about daily trivialities. Then, they proceeded to the main course, soup, and the finally dessert. The two quite enjoyed their dinner and decided to leave when the clock stroke 11. They returned to their room, expecting to find their kids there, and when they did, Kurapika frowned slightly upon seeing the twins lying on their queen-size bed, watching some late night shows and eating popcorns.

"I think baby tigers can be good pets. They're like cats, right?" Krisu asked as he rolled to his sister's side and dropped his hand on a bowl of popcorn, causing some to spill on the bed.

"They belong to the feline family, but they're not domestic pets, Krisu." Karin replied as she yawned.

"Isn't it past your bed time?" Kuroro suddenly asked as he and Kurapika stepped inside the room, making the twins flinch.

"Mommy, Daddy! You can't believe our adventure today!" Krisu yelled excitedly. He then narrated everything that he did while his parents fixed themselves. Then Kuroro also sat down on the bed and watched the show with his kids.

"Mhmm." The man hummed. "Daddy could buy a ship as big as this if you like." He chuckled a little.

"Really?" both Karin and Krisu asked in disbelief. Being wealthy has its perks after all.

"Kuroro." Kurapika warned the man before he gets the twins' hopes up. She's still waering her chiffon dress as she also sat down on the bed, just beside Karin, and joined her in eating some popcorns.

"Ne, Mommy, can we buy a big ship?" the little boy asked hopefully.

"No."

"Gifts." Karin suddenly blurted out and pointed underneath the white Christmas tree. She scrambled on her feet and ran towards the tree, followed by her brother. "Can we open them? Santa must have brought it here!" The girl, despite being more mature than her brother, still believes in people like Santa Clause. It's part of her childhood anyway.

"Nope. Wait until the 12 o'clock. Okay?" Kurapika said and the twins nodded eagerly excited at the thought of opening their presents. They must not have noticed them since they were too engrossed int watching television.

It's still 11:30pm and the family spent it by telling different stories with each other. Kuroro would join every now and then, but would often sit quietly and listen as Krisu and Karin ranted about the things they've done while they were gone during their search for Kairo. But just then, Kurapika brought up the topic of his birthday.

"Tonight's your father's birthday, you know." Kurapika grinned impishly and looked at Kuroro.

"Really?" Karin asked and looked at her father.

"Daddy!" Krisu practically threw himself to his Dad, and Kuroro caught him in time before he accidentally bumps his head on the headboard.

"Careful now." The man said with a smile and Krisu grinned at him.

"Is it really your birthday? Happy birthday, Daddy!" the boy excitedly yelled and suddenly gave his father a cute peck on his cheek, which took Kuroro slightly aback, considering that this is the first time a child of Krisu's age did something like that to him.

"Papa!" Karin also scrambled to her feet and approached her father, wanting some of his attention too. Kurapika on the other hand, is silently watching the scene before her, knowing that Kuroro is slightly panicking at what to do.

The kids kept their distance close to their father as they greeted him and showered him little kisses. This kind of thing also happens to Kurapika during her birthday too.

"Alright, you've had your fun." Kuroro interrupted with a chuckle and pulled the twins into a gentle embrace. He heard the two of them giggle uncontrollably as they both sat on his lap. "One minute till 12 o'clock. Go get your presents now." He whispered to them. Actually, it was him, Kurapika, and Kairo who gave them presents and put them underneath the tree while they were exploring the ship.

Immediately, Karin and Krisu broke free from his embrace and grabbed the presents underneath. They waited for a few seconds until the two started counting down.

"Five."

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"ONE!"

Ripping the wrappings excitedly, the twins can't help but squeal in joy with the gifts they received. Krisu got an airplane model (from Kairo), a book about wild animals (from Kurapika), and a discovery night vision cam-corder (from Kuroro). Karin on the other hand, received a Schoenhut Fancy Baby Grand Piano (from Kairo), a 3-D Star Theatre (from Kurapika), and a handheld digital microscope (from Kuroro).

Kurapika and Kuroro both watched as they played with their gifts happily. Karin even turned on her 3-D Star Theatre and turned the whole room into a beautiful starry night with lots of constellations. She named them one by one. Krisu then used his cam-corder and recorded the whole place with it, happily saying the names of the constellations along with his sister.

For almost an hour, the twins played happily, but it seems like exhaustion from their earlier activities had take their toll on them. In the end, Kurapika managed to tuck them in their beds and the fell asleep fast. At the other room, Kuroro had called for room service to take care of the mess and the torn Christmas wrappings.

"Are they asleep?" Kuroro asked when Kurapika entered their room and sat on the bed. She already changed from her dress and is now wearing a simple pair of comfortable shorts and slightly loose shirt.

"Yeah. Faster than expected." The blonde replied as she fell on the bed with an exhausted sigh. Too many things happened in one day.

Kuroro went to sit on the couch, also looking exhausted. He glanced at the clock and found out it's already 1:17 in the morning. But it's still obvious that there are still many people awake in this time, celebrating Christmas. Just then, Kurapika suddenly got up and walked towards the 'balcony' of their room to watch the see again despite the darkness. She was walking past Kuroro when the man suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him. The blonde gave out a surprised yelp and then found herself sitting on his lap, with a pair of strong arm wounded around her waist. She can feel Kuroro's ragged breathing through the back of her skin.

"Can't I have you for myself just for tonight?" he asked with a chuckle.

"It's morning, Kuroro." Kurapika corrected.

Kuroro did not answer. Instead, he gently ran his lips on her bare shoulder, earning a light shiver in response. Kurapika turned slightly to look at him.

"You're definitely being extremely clingy now." She said. Kurapika did notice how Kuroro unusually became a light attention-seeker this day. It was a new side of him and she sort of liked it. He's and adult male after all and he had urges and needs. Suddenly, she felt him bit her neck lightly, making her tense up.

"Thank you, by the way. That was the first time I celebrated my birthday in the last 27 years." He whispered audibly.

"Seriously?" she asked and shifted her position such that she's still sitting on his lap, but now facing him completely. She focused her attention in her eyes. "Then, like I said, you better get used to it from now on."

"I will." He replied and Kurapika suddenly leaned forward and trapped his lips into his own. Kuroro was surprised at her action. The Kuruta initiating the kiss first is a very rare moment and he might as well enjoy it.

He responded to the kiss fervently as Kurapika straddled him, her arms making their way around his neck. As time passed by, the kiss grew intense and passionate, making the couple more engrossed in it. Kuroro nibbled Kurapika's bottom lip in anticipation; feeling very aroused at that moment, and then slid his tongue inside her mouth as she permitted entrance, to taste her cavern of sweetness. Then, they broke apart and Kurapika stared at him, cheeks flushed and breathing heavily.

"Bed?" she suggested and Kuroro almost laughed as they stood up and headed towards the said object.

"You sure know how to take the lead now." He said in amusement. Kurapika lay down on the bed, with Kuroro crawling on top of her. Then, they continued where they left out.

They kissed hungrily again, before Kuroro moved his head down to caress her sensitive spots with his lips, gently kissing on them, leaving some purplish love marks. Kurapika could only shiver helplessly and moan in pleasure as the man did his part. His hands crawled inside her shirt, wanting to touch the delicate and sensitive skin underneath the cloth. All logical thought had flown out of the window when they started kissing, making it even more difficult to think about even the simplest things.

Kuroro loved the way Kurapika responded to his every touches and kisses. Soon enough, they have discarded their clothes and let their desire run freely.

They made love with each other without worries or regret and even if they did, it's too late to regret about things now. Kuroro can't remember the last time he had a very warm Christmas with the people that mattered to him while Kurapika can't remember the last time she had been this satisfied with everything.

For now, their troubles are very far away from them, with vast waters standing in between. When this day started, they have mutually decided to forget everything that is unnecessary and focus on making this journey of theirs a happy and memorable one.

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_**Author's Note:**__ Oookaayyy... so, too much fluff, don't you think? Well, I can;t help it since I'm going to school and this is some sort of 'temporary' farewell gift for you guys. I think it'll take weeks before I could update again. T.T... Please read and review... By the way, I'm going to reply to the reviewer in previous chapters._

_**sayurijaina0839:**__ Thank for such inspiring encouragement and thank you for waiting patiently for the previous chapter. I'll try to update as fast as I can if I have some free time. I can only promise that I won't drop this story since my dedication for this couple is as high as the sky. :) _

_**Tsuki kayasu:**__ Thanks so much for the compliment! _

_**Karuha yuuji kazuha ichiyu:**__ Really, you two are my favourite siblings! I wish me and my brother will get along just like you two. Thanks for the support and I will enjoy my university life. _

_**Uwasaza:**__ Thank you for being an avid reader of my fic. Keep up the good work in your homework. Some of your questions might be answered in the future chapters. Just keep reading and reviewing!_

_**Kur chan:**__ Haha! I miss you too! Thank for reading my fic and for reviewing it. :D_

_**flower scent:**__ Haha! I'll try to update it fast for you. I just don;t know when though._

_**Yukihitosakuya:**__ Aww, please don't cry. I hope you won't have more bad weeks but I'll try to update it real fast. I should try to adjust myself first in my university life. :D_

_**MARYLOVER:**__ Thanks for reviewing my fic wholeheartedly. I will PM you about the High Ones concept once I'm done. Maybe you could ask about some questions and I could answer them through the concept I made uo inside my head. Haha. Thanks for reading my fic!_

_**Next:**__ Adventures of their 6-day cruise ride all over five famous destinations. :D_


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_ They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 17

History Repeats Itself

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1st Day

Kuroro watched silently with a smile on his face as his kids fingered the elegant-looking grand piano inside one of Lady Claire Cruise Ship's music room. Karin tentatively pressed one key from the instrument and giggled a little with the high-pitched sound that came with the action. Krisu also curiously pressed more than one key and a sound with mixed pitches came out. Their father smiled lightly and approached the two. He sat down in front of the piano and looked at the twins.

"Daddy, can you play the piano?" Krisu asked as he made his way to Kuroro's lap and pressed more keys altogether.

Kuroro only hummed lightly and he guided his son's hands to press the right keys for a certain song; a song that he and Kurapika played together a long time ago. Karin watched in awe and mimicked the movement that her Papa made.

"Pa, teach us, please?" the little girl said and the raven-haired man smiled down at her.

"Sure. When the cruise is done, okay?" he said and Karin nodded in agreement.

Just then, another figure entered the soundproof music room and approached them. It was no other than Kurapika, wearing her winter clothes, with a blue jacket and thick, white scarf around her neck that covered her face up to the bridge of her nose. The three of them were also wearing winter clothes since the first destination of the cruise is a country that snows every Christmas season.

"We've arrived now." Kurapika stated, shoving her hands into her pockets to warm them up. It seems like the heater inside the room didn't do justice in warming them up some more. The weather outside must be really freezing.

"Really?" Krisu yelled excitedly and jumped down from his father's lap, and ran out of the room, followed by Karin.

Kuroro also stood up and approached Kurapika, inserting his right hand inside his coat's pocket while wrapping the other around the blonde's waist. Then together, the couple also followed their kids to enjoy the first destination of their cruise.

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Krisu happily rolled a large snowball as his sister put a smaller one on top of it. The twins gathered stones and sticks for their snowman while their parents watched from afar, sitting side by side. There were other people in the snow park that they entered, playing with the twins too.

The family have been exploring the famous tourist spots of the country, also stopping inside warm hotel to get a little rest. They are finally settling into letting the twins play around with the snow some more before going back to the cruise ship to prepare themselves for the next destination.

For a moment, Kurapika and Kuroro only sat on the bench of the park, their watchful eyes never leaving their children's figures. Kurapika had her head resting on Kuroro's shoulder, clearly tired of their long but enjoyable trip.

"I received a call from Uncle Kairo this morning." Kurapika suddenly said and Kuroro looked at her. "It's about the robbery in the company."

Kuroro hummed. "What did he say?" he asked softly.

"He had confirmed that the suspect is really one of the board of members. I don't know how he did but he assured me that he will be able to capture him once we return."

"That's good news." The man replied. "Change of subject, what will you do with your new book? The one about the Underground River?"

The blonde shrugged. "I'm going to finish it, of course. Once everything is settled, I'll go back to Puerto Andale and continue my research."

"Sounds good." The man whispered, cold air coming out of his lips.

"We should go back now." Kurapika then suggested before standing up and approached the twins. Kuroro also got up on his feet and followed the woman, watching her tell their kids to get ready to go back to the cruise ship.

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2nd Day

The next destination of their cruise ride is no other than Jappon, the home of ninjas and sushi. It is also where Hanzo lives and the said birthplace of two of Kuroro's Spiders; Nobunaga and Machi. The country is also snowing during Christmas holidays and the twins preferred playing in the snow rather than touring around famous places and attending some cultural festivals.

The family visited different temples, writing their post Christmas wishes and offering them to the said temples. Kuroro just watched as both Karin and Krisu talked about their wishes and he saw them laughed excitedly. Kurapika on the other hand, is by a takoyaki stand, buying them snacks before proceeding towards the next tourists' spot.

"We have the same wish!" Krisu squealed. "Well, sort of the same."

"It's still the same thing." Karin replied with a light smile. "But I prefer my wish to come true."

"No way! I want mine!" the boy retorted.

"Stop acting spoiled."

Krisu stuck out his tongue and turned away with a 'hmph'. Upon seeing this, Kuroro chuckled to himself, amused with seeing his kids argue. He approached them and ruffled his son's cold hair.

"Now, what is this about?" he asked and Krisu turned to him, pouting slightly. Karin rolled her eyes upon seeing his reaction but said nothing. "What did you two wish for?"

"We can't tell you or it won't come true." Karin explained reasonably. Her father smiled lightly at her.

"Tell me and I'll grant it." Kuroro assured them as he kneeled on his heel. Krisu immediately made his way to sit on his father's propped leg. True, Kuroro can give anything that his kids would wish for. _**ANYTHING.**_

"Really?" the boy asked hopefully. This time, Kurapika is now back, carrying with her a paper bag with her ordered takoyaki balls inside.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked upon arriving at Kuroro's side.

"Daddy said he will grant our wishes!" Krisu said excitedly and the blonde woman eyed Kuroro.

"He did, huh?" her voice sounded disapproving, as if telling him to stop falling to the twins' tricks easily and spoiling them too much in the process. But no matter how much she tried to warn or lecture him, the man never seemed to listen to her seriously. "And what wish would that be?"

Krisu looked at her sister, as if asking for permission to tell them. For a moment, Karin looked stern but in the end, she finally nodded while letting a frustrated sigh escape her lips. The raven-haired boy grinned happily as he looked up to meet his father's eyes.

"We want a baby brother!"

_Silence..._

Well... that was unexpected.

There was obvious shock written all over Kurapika's face. However, on Kuroro's part, although he was also slightly surprised at the 'wish', he managed to recover quickly and laughed a little at the innocent wish that Krisu blurted out. He looked at Kurapika by slightly shifting his neck to see her reaction, which he assumed would amuse him. And it did.

"Hey, that's not fair. I want a baby sister." Karin frowned slightly but Krisu only stuck out his tongue once again.

"Where... did you get that kind of idea?" Kurapika then asked slowly, finally recovering from her initial shock, and casting Kuroro a suspicious glare. Fortunately, the kids did not notice.

"From a boy we met back in the snow park. He said that his Mommy and Daddy gave him a baby brother. I want a baby brother too, Mommy!" the little boy squealed. "Babies are so cute and tiny!"

Kurapika didn't know what to say. But she was a little annoyed when she saw Kuroro chuckling again as he stood up, carrying their son in his arms. He looked at her with a mischievous smirk.

"What do you say, Kurapika? Should we grant them their wish?" he asked rather 'innocently'.

Rolling her eyes, the blonde opted to change the subject by giving the takoyaki balls for the kids to eat. Almost instantly, the topic about the baby brother and sister was forgotten from their minds.

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3rd Day

Kurapika's phone rang many times before the blonde finally fluttered her eyes open, grabbing the annoying device that deprived her of her sleep from the bedside table. She was not able to move freely because of the fact that a strong arm is draped around her waist and that arm belonged to no other than her lover himself. Kuroro is still sleeping soundlessly, his breathing cool and calm.

Finally shifting her eyes from the slumbering figure, Kurapika finally answered the call as she leaned her back on the headboard and tucked the device to her ear.

"Good morning, dear." Kairo's cheerful voice rang from the other line. "I hope I didn't call too early."

As if he could see her, the blonde shook her head. "Not at all, Uncle. Is there something you need to tell me?"

For a moment, Kairo Bethel was quiet and the blonde waited patiently for him. After a few minutes, the old man finally spoke.

"Be carefully, my dear. Always be watchful of the kids. You and Kuroro should always be near them." His voice was a combination of seriousness and anxiety.

With his words, Kurapika furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Her uncle needed not to tell her to be watchful of the children. Even without being told, she will never let her attention leave her beloved twins. But why is her Uncle Kairo saying such things early in the morning?

"Is something wrong, Uncle?" she asked worriedly. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Just enjoy your trip, kay?" without even waiting for Kurapika to respond, Kairo quickly hang up, taking her aback a little. She pulled away from the device and stared at it a bit surprised. Kairo didn't even say his usual 'Goodbye, my dear' or 'Take care, dear'. Just then, Kurapika felt the arm around her waist move, indicating that its owner is waking up.

The Kuruta put away the mobile phone on the bedside table as Kuroro slowly got up, his hair dishevelled and eyes still drooped. He leaned back on the headboard beside Kurapika and looked at her.

"Kairo?" he asked groggily and the blonde nodded. "What did he say?" although Kuroro heard some fragments of their conversation, he opted to hear the full details from Kurapika herself.

With a sigh, she got out of the bed and strolled towards the nearby wardrobe, opening it, and taking out some fresh clothes. Kuroro followed her figure silently and waited for her to say something.

"He told me that we should watch over the kids carefully, that we should stay near them all the time." The blonde finally said and turned on her heels to give the still sitting man her full attention. "And he said it in a manner that tells me something is wrong."

"Indeed." Kuroro replied and also got up, approaching the door leading towards the twins' room. He opened them and slightly poked his head inside the room and saw the children still sleeping soundly. "And I thought he's going to update you with the investigation in the company."

"I thought so too."

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Meanwhile...

After hanging up quickly on Kurapika, Kairo Bethel slumped back on his chair, breathing heavily as if he just finished a 5 kilometre run. His head is starting to ache again and he felt his Nen invade his heart and lungs, tightening them and making it difficult for blood to circulate properly and air to get in and out of his body. The old man waited patiently until the temporary symptoms finally died down.

This kind of thing is not new to him. Kairo had repeatedly felt these sensations every time he uses his Specialization ability.

Everyone is aware that Kairo, like Kurapika and Kuroro, is beyond human. He's not normal, considering the fact that he's one of the few Kurutan survivors in the world. He's a risk-taker and being who he is, he used his 'abnormality' to form a very dangerous ability that may cause even the user's life.

An ability that can manipulate both space and time.

Not everyone can make such powerful skill. In Kairo's case, he used his scarlet eyes to enhance his nen and develop what he calls as his Space and Time Vacuum.

In the Space and Time Vacuum, Kairo can travel back in time and in the future and see the things that happened and are about to take place. He has the power to see the disasters that are coming and the triumphs that will occur. Having the control over two things that only God is supposed to handle is very risky indeed. He can also transport things that came from the future and the past by using his scarlet eyes that can trigger 100% of his Manipulation nen. The forest that Kurapika and Kuroro saw during their search for him is non-existent in this time and he did not create it using his so-called 'terrakinesis'. The hallucinating forest actually came from a rainforest that was burned down about 50 years ago. When Karin was nearly hit by Hisoka's card, he actually casted a manipulation spell that caused the card to be transported into the vacuum

However, like any other complicated abilities, Kairo had to make several vows and limitations in order to make his chosen skill work. They had to be strong and convincing and here are his chosen vows and limitations; first, he is not allowed to tell anyone about what he had seen in the past and future. That would violate the space and time continuum laws. Instead, he can give clues for warning. If he violates the first vow, he will die. Second, he can transport everything from the past to the future or present or vice- versa- everything except human beings, whether dead or alive. People in the past should stay in the past and the same goes with the future. Third, with every use of the ability, some of his life force will drain out.

That's right, if he uses his skill excessively, he will slowly wear out and eventually die. That is why he hadn't been using it for many years. During the time of the Kuruta massacre, he was still developing his ability and he only perfected it just recently with the help of Kuroro's father, Aamir Efraim. With Aamir's knowledge about the High Ones, he was able to understand more about the concept of Nen.

Right now, he just finished looking into the future to see what will happen. His little trip did not disappoint him since he saw it...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kuroro had never seen his kids throw a tantrum before. No, scratch that. He had never seen Krisu Lucifer throw a tantrum before. And this will be the first time ever. Karin had never ever cried this hard before and he doubt that she would ever do it. But his son is another issue. Being a seven-year old child with Kurapika's personality, something like this is bound to happen someday. He should have listened to the blonde when she warned him about spoiling Krisu too much.

It all started when the boy refused to go back to the cruise ship at the end of their fourth day cruise. It so happens that their destination is a country with many wildlife reserves. And it so happens that Krisu is a big and dedicated animal lover so you know the rest.

When Kurapika firmly refused to let the boy stay a bit longer to roam the safari one more time, Krisu started pouting, then his pout turned to a session of hard crying, which gave the blond Kuruta a slight headache in the head. Kuroro is now seeing the implication of the things he did and is now assessing himself of what he should really do as a father. Being a father is really a hard task, especially when you have only been given little time to know your children.

"Krisu, it's time to go back. We'll come back next time, kay?" Kurapika tried to hush the wailing boy it had no effect.

"But... but... I don't...wanna!" Krisu said as he cried his eyes out. Karin, tired of listening to her brother's antics, settled herself with her Papa and the two only watched the scene unfold before them.

"Next time. We'll come back here. Promise." Kurapika tried again but to no avail. She's now tempted to try the strict parent method and scold Krisu greatly. She understands why the boy is acting that way but it's already way too much to handle.

Sighing frustratingly, Kurapika approached Kuroro with a light glare. "Talk to him." She ordered with a firm voice, leaving Kuroro no choice. He stood up, submitting fully, and walked over towards his son to 'talk' to him. The man kneeled on his knees in front of the boy and it's now Kurapika's turn to watch.

Kuroro smiled lightly at Krisu. "Your Mommy is right, Krisu." He gently said and stroked the boy's jet black hair. "We'll come back here and stay as long as you want." There he goes again, spoiling the boy.

"But..." Krisu sobs died down a little. "When? We'll... we'll go to school... we won't have... time." He reasoned out as calmly as possible.

Kuroro honestly doesn't like dealing stubborn people. So, to end Krisu's wailing, he decided to go against what Kurapika is initially trying to achieve. "Alright." He finally said. "We'll go to a nearby zoo and that's all, okay?"

"Kuroro!" Kurapika bellowed angrily upon hearing what he said. She approached him with Karin on the tow and shook her head. "That's not what I want. We're going back to the cruise ship and that's it."

When Krisu gave an indication that he was about to cry again, Kuroro immediately carried him in his arms. "It's just for a little while. I'll pull some strings and convince Captain Hughes to sail later."

"But..." Kurapika trailed off. To tell the truth, the blonde is actually worried about the phone call that she received from her uncle yesterday, the about 'always being watchful with the kids'. Kuroro understood this and he knew better than to take Kairo's words lightly.

"Please, Mommy?" Krisu asked hopefully as he leaned his head on his Daddy's shoulders.

There is actually a nearby zoo where the cruise ship docked and it'll only be a three-minute ride going there. Kurapika wouldn't have minded staying for a while if not for Kairo's 'warning'.

"30 minutes." She whispered, defeated. "Only 30 minutes and we'll go back immediately."

With that, Krisu smiled triumphantly as he nodded enthusiastically. Karin shook her head in dismay but kept quiet. If she were her Papa, she's do the same since she doesn't like dealing with hard-headed people like her brother.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Isn't that Kuroro Lucifer?"

"Yeah. It looks like him."

"And who are those people? His family?"

"Yeah."

Mr. Johansen was a little shocked at the funny yet sickening coincidence of seeing Kuroro Lucifer in the same country. But after a while, his shock changed into indescribable anger as he watched the CEO of Bethel Corporations enter a children's zoo while carrying a familiar raven-haired kid and being followed by a blonde woman, who is also holding a blonde girl's hand. He had never seen the woman before. She must be the woman that Raison had told him about, the one who is the real owner of Bethel Corporations and is Kairo Bethel's niece.

Out of sheer curiosity over the matter about his enemy, Johansen followed the family into the zoo as well. The old man is actually here to visit his brother, who is a wildlife photographer in this country. Another reason is that he's afraid of Kairo Bethel. Ever since the news of his return spread like wild fire, almost all of Bethel Corporation's potential rivals have been quiet and playing safe. Johansen can no longer make a move without fearing that he'll get caught. Even Myrtle Industries, owned by Greg Myrtle, Alicia's father, is submitting to Kairo's every whim.

It looks to him like Kairo's only weakness would be his family and now that Johansen has the chance to grasp that weakness, he won't let it pass. Not only will he get his revenge on Kuroro Lucifer but he can also get not only the Johansen Pharmaceutical Company but also the Bethel Corporations as a whole.

As he entered the zoo, he quickly scanned the area and saw his targets. Kuroro had now put the boy down and the little fiend is running around the zoo, looking really fascinated by the animals. Meanwhile, the blonde woman is watching as her little girl is following her brother.

Johansen waited for a chance (if there will be) and resorted into pretending as a tourist by watching cages of animals near the family. He just hoped that Kuroro did not notice his presence. For a few minutes, the children just looked at the animals with broad grins on their faces. Johansen suddenly remembered his first attempt to kidnap one of Kuroro's kids. It was also in a zoo and it was not successful. His underling had told him how Kuroro treated him when the man caught him red-handed.

Suddenly, he noticed something odd happening to the blonde girl. Johansen watched silently as Kuroro and the blonde woman approached the little girl, who was clutching her stomach and looking like she's in pain. Her parents tried to comfort her and did not notice the raven-haired boy walking away from them while watching many platypuses diving down a pond.

This is the chance he'd been waiting for.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"What's wrong with her?" Kuroro asked and Kurapika noticed a light tinge of worry in his voice. She smiled at that.

"It's her occasional stomach pains." The blonde replied as she rummaged through her bag for Karin's medicine.

"Is it normal?" Kuroro asked again while watching Karin's face distort in pain.

"Umm... yeah. Sort of." His eyebrows furrowed at Kurapika's unsure answer. "It's common for growing kids. Especially for girls." Then, she handed the little girl a tablet and a bottled water to go with it. Karin drank her medicine gratefully and after doing so, Kuroro carried her until the medicine had taken its effect.

"It's best if we go back now." The man suggested and Kurapika gave him an I-told-you-so look. Karin is squirming slightly in pain while hugging her father's neck and burying her face on his shoulder. Kuroro stroke her back to comfort her and it's somehow effective.

"I'll go get Krisu." But when Kurapika looked around to find the boy, she couldn't see him anywhere. She didn't dare to shout out his name since it will disturb the other tourists. No matter how much she tried to look for him, Krisu couldn't be found anywhere. Panic started to build up inside her as she summoned her chains and called out the dowsing chain. Focusing her aura, Kurapika drew Krisu's features inside her head until the chain swung with force to the west.

Following the chain's movements, both Kurapika and Kuroro moved quickly, trying to get to Krisu as fast as possible. Is this what Kairo meant when he said to always be 'watchful of the kids'?

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, little kid, do you like tigers?"

Krisu looked up and saw a familiar fat man beaming down at him. Furrowing his eyebrows, the boy held out his hand and pointed at him.

"You're the fat man that yelled at Daddy!" he shouted, capturing the attention of the nearby tourists.

The man looked alarmed at the suspicious eyes looking at them and immediately kneeled down in front of the child to meet his eye level.

"Hey, hey, I'm not longer mad at your Daddy, kay? We're friends now." The man explained but it did not convince the boy. Instead, Krisu looked back to search for his Mommy and Daddy but unfortunately, he realized that he had gone far away than he intended. Kurapika would surely scold him once she finds him.

Noticing the boy's actions, the man smiled and spoke. "It seems like you're lost. Want me to take you back to your parents?"

Krisu wanted to nod but he remembered what his mother told him about talking to strangers. So, he just silently turned on his heels and tried to retrace his tracks to go back to where his parents and sister are. But before he could even take one step, the boys felt an arm wrap around his little body and a handkerchief cover both his nose and mouth. The hanky felt wet and smelled sweet. Before he knew it, Krisu found it hard to struggle and his eyes are dropping. Soon, enough he passed out.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Johansen finally felt relieved when he successfully managed to make the boy pass out silently. He carried the limp body casually and was grateful that the attention he got a while ago from the tourists is now gone, making it possible for him to do what he had been planning.

He looked around to make sure Kuroro and Kurapika is not around. Then, after being sure, he immediately walked out of the zoo normally like nothing is odd. He put the sleeping boy at the back seat of his car and drove away as fast as possible before taking out his newly bought phone and dialled Kuroro's number.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_Zzzttt... zzzttt... zzzttt..._

Kuroro furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and annoyance when his phone vibrated nonstop. With a slight grunt, he took it out of his pocket with the hand that had been stroking a sleeping Karin's back and absentmindedly pushed the 'Answer' button, then tucking it to his ear.

"Kuroro Lucifer speaking." He said with a very cold voice. He's still following Kurapika in looking for Krisu and the Dowsing chain brought them to the cages that housed some tigers. Kuroro wondered how far Krisu had gotten with the short time that they attended to Karin's needs.

"_If you want your son back and alive, go back to Gushiken District. I'll give you further instructions when you get there."_ The strange voice said.

Kuroro openly frowned at this. "Who's this?" the voice was really hoarse. The owner must have done it in purpose to avoid getting detected.

"_Doesn't matter, Lucifer. If you don't believe that I have your precious son, I'll send you a picture of him."_ And with that, the number hang up. Kuroro tried dialling it again but it kept getting rejected over and over again.

"Damn." The Spider head cursed silently when his call was rejected for the nth time. Then, he received a multimedia message from the same unknown number and he opened it.

Almost instantly, sudden surge of anger filled him when the multimedia message is actually a picture of his son, sleeping inside a moving car. He can tell it's moving since the background is blurred. The message contained a footnote that only enraged the Spider head more.

**-If the news of your son's kidnapping gets out, I'll kill him immediately-**

"Kurapika." He called out and the blonde shifted her neck to look at him. "I know where Krisu is."

"You do?" he can see how worried she is and this information he just received will really trigger her scarlet eyes and unleash hell. "So where is he?"

Instead of answering, Kuroro gave her his phone and showed her the multimedia message. For a moment, Kurapika looked unfoundedly at it. Then, he eyes really turned scarlet and she gave Kuroro a very angry glare.

"Who is this bastard?" she asked, suppressing her anger in order to not wake up Karin. "I'll kill him." Her hands clutched the phone tightly that Kuroro heard it crack.

"Calm down. We'll go back to Gushiken and see what we can do." His voice was calm since it is not a good idea to succumb to anger and become irrational.

"Shit. We should have gone back when we had the chance. Damn it." The blonde's voice trembled a little and Kuroro can't help but feel guilty. If only he did not give in to Krisu's pleading, this wouldn't have happened.

But whoever this kidnapper is, he had chosen to go against with the wrong family. Nobody messes with the Bethel family, that's their motto and everyone should fear it. But if one really doesn't want to live a miserable life, they should remember to NEVER EVER mess with Kuroro's family.

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**Author's Note:** _Hello everyone! I'm back! Pre-midterm exams just finished at I'm free to write my story! I just finished watching episode 39 of the Hunter x Hunter reboot and Kurapika looked more girly than he did in the previous animation. Now I'm excited to see Kuroro! Yay! And Hunter x Hunter manga is coming back this August! My life is complete! I hope the new arc will revisit the Genei Ryodan arc that left me hanging! I hope this is worth the wait._

**Next:** _Their family time was interrupted and they had to go back to Gushiken District to save Krisu. Looks like the kidnapped is not joking about killing Krisu. Kairo tells Kuroro and Kurapika about his ability and asks Kuroro to do something for him. What will it be? Will it save Krisu or worsen the situation?_


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 18

A Wish that Came True

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Time is running out. They only have a few more hours.

Kurapika silently sat inside Kuroro's study room, head bowed a little and hands clasped together in anxiety. Kuroro is standing not far from her, looking out of the window with arms crossed and expression very stern. On the other hand, Kairo is also resting himself on a couch opposite of Kurapika's with his eyes locked on a lone mobile phone sitting on top of the coffee table at the middle of the room.

The Elite Seven were also there together with all of Kuroro's Spiders, waiting patiently for a certain call. Shalnark had his laptop open and some sort of wire connected to the mobile phone. Together with Feitan and Aki, they worked together in order to track down someone. Jo is very ready with his nen just in case they decided to teleport to a certain place.

The whole room was filled with silence and the atmosphere is very tense. Just then, the mobile phone rang and it was Kurapika who snatched it first from the table before anyone else could. Kuroro already moved from where he is standing and is now sitting beside the anxious Kuruta. Kurapika could only stare at the device on her palm as it kept on ringing, unsure whether she should answer or not.

"I'll handle it." Kuroro offered with his palm held out. Reluctantly, Kurapika nodded and gave the phone to him. Pressing the green 'Answer' button, Kuroro tucked the device to his ear and spoke first. "Kuroro Lucifer speaking." From the corner of his eyes, he could see Shalnark and Feitan listening intently to the incoming conversation.

But instead of a hoarse voice that the man had been expecting, the voice of a little boy echoed at the other line, making Kuroro's eyes twitch a little.

"_Daddy? Dad! They-"_ and the line was cut off. Now, another person is speaking.

"_You hear that, Lucifer? Your son will be in big trouble if this gets out."_

Kuroro heard silent whimpers from the other line, certainly coming from Krisu. He unconsciously curled his hand into tight fists as he tried to continue the conversation with his son's kidnapper.

"What do you want..." his voice was cold and demanding, as if saying that he'd kill whoever the kidnapper is if he touches a single hair from his son's head. Beside him, Kuroro can feel Kurapika inching closer towards him, trying to catch a little bit of their conversation. Then, he added "...Johansen?"

The person at the other line did not reply immediately. Without even investigating, Kuroro knew that Johansen would be the only person who would have the nerve to go against him and involve anyone close to him. The old man is driven with anger and revenge; just like how Kurapika was seven years ago. And being driven by anger and revenge means there's no limit to what a person can do, may it be dangerous or beneficial for him.

"_I want your head on a silver platter, you bastard, and I'm serious about it. Or would you prefer to have your son's head in exchange for yours instead?"_

Kuroro remained indifferent at his threat. They can save Krisu easily, with his Spiders' and the Elite Seven's help. However, they must know the factors first that Johansen has in his advantage. Johansen may even have a powerful nen user with him.

But one thing that bothered him is how Johansen supported himself and his men with money when his family is nearly broke? Kuroro could only conclude that behind Johansen, there's someone else greater and more powerful who is sustaining him.

"Fine, I'll give you that." The Spider head replied bluntly. "Where's the location?"

"_Wait. You're serious?"_ the voice from the other line asked unbelievably.

"I am. That's what you wanted so I'll give it to you as long as you do not touch or injure my son. Now where is the meeting place?"

"_Under the New Gushiken Bridge. Nine o'clock tonight."_ Then, he hung up without even giving Kuroro the chance to speak with Krisu again.

"We got it, Danchou." Shalnark suddenly said as he typed furiously in his net book. "Belafingour Street in Jana City. About one kilometre from here. It seems like he's hiding in a mansion." The techy guy actually hacked into a government-operated satellite to zoom the places in the Gushiken district as close as he wanted. Although illegal, Kairo can take care of the consequences for them. Right now, their priority is to recue Krisu no matter what.

Kuroro nodded in acknowledgement as his brain tried to come up with plans before the time limit. It's already seven in the evening and time is really running out. Kurapika also felt relieved to know where Krisu is and she almost wanted to go there immediately. But past experiences did not allow her to do so. In a crisis like this, acting irrationally is the last thing she needed.

Just then, Kairo stood up from his seat after not speaking the entire time. He looked at Kurapika and Kuroro and opened his mouth to talk. "Come with me. I have something to show you that may help." He proceeded to walk out of Kuroro's study room to head toward his own.

The couple looked at each other with confused expressions before gathering themselves up and following the older man, leaving the Elite Seven and the Spiders to come up with plans to suggest to their respective leaders. When they arrived, Kairo was now sitting on his chair with a serious face. Kurapika rarely sees her uncle like that and it worried her.

"Kuroro, tell me again in detail what your ability is." Kairo suddenly spoke up and the question confused the couple even more. Nevertheless, the raven-haired man did what he was told.

"My ability is called Skill Hunter. I steal other people's ability." He explained.

"And what are the conditions before you can steal them?"

Kurapika now felt very anxious about this conversation but she continued being silent.

"I must first see the ability I'm going to steal with my own eyes. Then, the person should tell me how his ability works when I ask him. Then, he must touch the handprint of my Skill book. All of these should be done in an hour."

This is the first time Kurapika heard how his ability really worked and it kind of surprised her since they were very strict.

"I see." Kairo nodded thoughtfully then fixed Kuroro a hard stare. "Do me a favour and steal my ability."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Krisu doesn't like being cooped up in a place. Usually, he would whine out loud to express how bored he is. But now, he's not thinking of it. Even though he had been locked up from the outside in a small room with nothing but an uncomfortable bed to sleep on and a small chair, he didn't dare do anything rash or complain.

He's scared. All he wanted is for his Daddy and Mommy to come and get him. Nothing mattered to him but that thought.

He stood up from the edge of the bed he had been sitting on and walked towards the door, imagining it miraculously opening for his escape. The little boy sighed. It has been a few days since he was brought into this place. It was heavily guarded but not suspicious enough for other people passing by to notice. The room had a lone window, located so high that he cannot reach it to peak outside. That's where the light came from that penetrated the area. There's also a small wall clock at the side.

Krisu turned around to sit on the chair. He tried to relax so he looked at the window. Then, the boy smiled lightly when he saw a white dove sitting on the sills, looking at him.

"Hey, there." The boy started talking to the animal. "Nice to see you. I finally got some company."

The bird only cocked its head sideways.

Just then, the door slammed open and his kidnapper came inside with another man behind him, who is carrying a tray of food.

"Your bastard father better keep his word or you'll pay in his behalf." Johansen yelled at him as his man stepped inside and put the tray down the floor. Then, the two went out again and Krisu saw clinking silver keys around the second man's belt. How he wished he could reach out and grab those keys.

With another sigh, Krisu ignored the food and turned to look at the window once again; expecting that the white dove had flown away with the commotion a while ago. But to his surprise, the bird remain sitting on the sill, head still cocked sideways.

"Help me." The boy muttered desperately as tears began to sting his eyes. "Please..."

But with his last word, the dove flew away. As if that was his last hope, Krisu finally allowed himself to cry his eyes out as he headed to the bed to get some rest.

Time seemed to fly very fast as he fell asleep and when he woke up, it was already eight thirty in the evening. Krisu got up and rubbed his eyes that were swollen from too much crying. He remembered that the time limit that his kidnapper had given his parents is nine o'clock and he shuddered at the thought that they may come too late. When his vision cleared, he suddenly gasped in a combination of shock and excitement.

Right in front of him was the white dove, sitting at the chair, holding with its beak what looked like a key chain with clusters of keys.

"Is that..." Krisu's voice trembled and wanted to reach out. But he was afraid that the bird might get scared and fly away with the keys. But contrary to his belief, the dove flew towards him and landed on his shoulder, dropping the silver keys on his lap. With shaky hands, the boy grabbed the key chain, making sure he doesn't let them clink with each other to avoid making any sound and arousing suspicions from the guards outside.

Did the bird really understand him when he asked to help him? Out of instinct, Krisu looked up to the window and was once again surprised to see two more birds; one a swallow and the other a small eagle. There were also some squirrels and chipmunks, who were all looking at him.

"Hello. Did you come to visit me too?"

As if answering his question, the animals all went down from the high window and settled themselves beside the boy. Krisu wanted to giggle in excitement but he then remembered his first priority.

Standing up full of energy, Krisu silently tiptoed towards the door and held out one key. He tried it but did not fit the knob. He tried one key after another until he reached a small key that perfectly fit it. He turned it slowly and suddenly heard a soft click. Then, he knew he got it right.

Slowly but surely, he turned the unlocked door and pushed it slightly open, peeking out a little in the process. The odds were all in his favour. There were no guards around like what he had expected. He took one step out while the animals silently followed him. The squirrels then climbed up on his back and rested on his shoulders.

Krisu treaded the dark hallway of the mansion while looking around cautiously. He wouldn't want to be caught once again. As he was walking, he came across a drunken guard, sleeping soundly on a chair beside a room's door. At first, Krisu stiffened, but when he realized that the guard is asleep, he let out a relieved sigh and continued walking, passing by the sleeping man.

"Hey, you! Come back here!" a groggy voice suddenly shouted at Krisu.

Without any further thought, Krisu bolted out, with adrenaline rush powering him. Of course, he did not forget to use nen to make his movements faster. However, his animal friends left his side and suddenly attacked the guard, giving him enough time to escape. Krisu thanked them mentally and then focused himself in escaping. Running around the mansion was like running around a maze... and getting lost in the process. The boy didn't know what to do. His mind cannot think coherently as he just ran aimlessly.

In the end, he came to a dead end for the nth time. By this time, that drunken guard must have alerted the others and they are all now looking for him. It was like all hope was gone when he heard a couple of footsteps coming nearer and nearer. Not knowing what else to do, Krisu resorted to pushing himself in a corner and sat down, wrapping his arms around his propped knees, and shaking terribly in the combination of cold and fear. Great, his only chance of escaping is now gone.

Tears flowed down his cheeks once again.

But the, a familiar figure suddenly appeared right in front of him. A man with raven hair was looking down at him with his black orbs that were tinted with worry and relief.

"Da...Daddy?" the boy managed to say.

Kuroro smiled down at him. "Krisu, are you okay?" he asked.

Krisu gasped and then stood up, throwing himself against his father and Kuroro caught him. Burying his head on his chest, Krisu cried and cried while trying to stifle his sobs in the process. Now that Kuroro had what he came here for, he immediately summoned his Skill Book and used his ever so useful teleportation skill to get out of this place.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When Kuroro came back in the Gushiken Manor with Krisu between his arms, Kurapika's motherly instinct kicked in and she rushed out towards the two to make sure her son is okay. He could see that Krisu lost some weight and is very tired. Kuroro transferred the boy to his mother's arms and Kurapika wasted no time to care for him.

As Kurapika did her job, Kuroro turned to his Spiders, giving them a determined look.

"Go and catch Johansen. Bring him to me alive. Eliminate anyone who stands in your way." He received nine identical nods from his Spiders and they were instantly gone. When he said to 'eliminate anyone who stands in their way', he meant killing all of Johansen's men.

The Spider head had never felt this angry before. Though his facial expressions cannot show it, he's actually furious. He was thankfully just in time to get his son and he saw how scared the boy was. Seeing Krisu like reminded him of how he looked like when he helplessly watched his own father burn his beloved mother's body 27 years ago.

Kuroro shifted his head and watched as Kurapika tried comfort Krisu and feed him some of his favourite food while Karin stayed by her brother's side like what he did when she was hospitalized. Just then, he felt his chest tightened a little but he did not move his hand to clutch it. His brows only furrow slightly in obvious pain.

'_This again...'_

How he found Krisu was actually thanks to Kairo's ability, which he 'stole' from him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_**A few hours ago...**_

"_Come again?" Kuroro could not believe what he just heard._

"_Steal my ability." Kairo repeated generously for him and stood up. "Trust me. It'll help you."_

_Kurapika felt like she was glued to the ground. This was also the first time that her uncle talked about his ability. And why would he want Kuroro to steal it from him?_

"_Why?" Kuroro asked, his voice calm and steady._

"_Because it can help. Isn't that a good enough reason?" Kairo was now beaming at them childishly, a sudden changed in attitude that the couple has gotten used to now._

"_Why don't you just use it then?" Kurapika questioned this time, feeling more confused. She thought she knew her uncle but today only proved wrong. He's more twisted than she thought._

"_I don't need this ability anymore. I think that Kuroro would need it more than I will." He gave Kuroro a light stare. "And I hope you will know when and how to use it." Kuroro did not say anything this time. He got the message. Kairo would never do this kind of thing out of impulse. Maybe he had thought about this a long time ago._

"_Fine. I will." He finally replied at length, receiving a smile in return._

"_Thank you." Kairo said those two words with relief. _

_Now, to fulfil the first condition, Kairo had to show Kuroro his ability, which will be very painful in his part. The old Kuruta sauntered towards the couple and held out his hand to Kurapika. At first, his niece was confused but she soon grabbed hold of his hand in return. Kairo then gestured Kuroro to grab Kurapika's free hand and the man did it quickly._

"_Close your eyes and do not open them unless I say so." _

_The couple obeyed immediately, closing their eyes and resisting the urge to peek. A few seconds later, they suddenly felt a large pressure pressing against their bodies. It made breathing a little difficult and they felt like they're being sucked into something. Kurapika held unto Kuroro's hand tightly, making sure she doesn't let go no matter what. A few more seconds later, the pressure finally disappeared and everything returned to normal._

"_You can open your eyes now."_

_The couple slowly fluttered their eyes open and the first thing that greeted them was the darkness. _

"_What—" Kurapika didn't know what to say._

"_Welcome to my Space and Time Vacuum." Kairo said proudly as he held out his arms, his eyes bright scarlet just like Kurapika's when she uses her scarlet eyes._

_Kuroro was speechless as well. It seems like Kairo brought them into another dimension. But what kind of dimension exactly? As if answering his question, a white crystal-like orb suddenly floated in front of him. His obsidian eyes widened in slight shock and more of those orbs appeared, some blue and some white. Kurapika was also in a surprised state like him. Written at the surfaces if the said orbs are what looked like dates._

"_Space and time." Kuroro muttered and looked at Kairo._

_The second condition must now be fulfilled. Kairo cleared his throat and started explaining to the couple about his ability, receiving different reactions from them, notably from Kurapika. Kuroro would only occasionally raise or furrow his eyebrows._

_When he finished, Kairo waited for any questions from them and as expected, Kurapika was the one who spoke first._

"_You mean, you can-"_

"_That's right." Kairo replied without even letting his niece finish her words. "I can replay things that happened in the past and will happen in the future. Even the Kuruta massacre." Kurapika suddenly felt uncomfortable while Kuroro frowned slightly. He looked around and pointed at a certain blue orb. "The things that are floating around you are called 'Time Spheres'. The blue ones are for the past and the white ones is for the future."_

"_How long can you use this ability?" Kuroro asked this time._

"_About two minutes. Mind you, going beyond that time is risky. It may even cause you your life." Kairo replied. "Now, for demonstration." He then walked towards a blue orb dated December 24 this year. He touched it, his hand covered with his nen, and the said orb widened, revealing a scene from their vacation a few days ago. Kuroro and Kurapika can see themselves, Kurapika leaning on the railings with Kuroro behind her, his face buried in her neck and arms around her waist._

_Wait... that-_

"_How sweet." Kairo chuckled wholeheartedly._

_Kurapika unexpectedly flushed at it. "Uncle!" she yelled angrily and Kairo immediately closed the orb._

"_Hai, hai." He grinned. "There's no need to be embarrassed about it." Kuroro also grinned lightly at that._

"_Shut up! It's disrespectful to pry and you know that."_

"_Alright, Forgive me, kay? It's not like I see what you two do every day. In fact, this is the first time I watched you two." Bu then, his voice returned to being serious. "Now, let's go back to our time and get this over with. It's almost two minutes now."_

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_**Back to the present...**_

After Kairo had put his hand on the handprint of Kuroro's skill book, the process was complete. A new page was added to his book and it contained Kairo's picture and his ability. Kuroro knew that Kurapika was reluctant at letting him use the ability for the first time, knowing that the third condition involves his life force. When they returned, Kurapika's eyes were tinted with worry when her uncle clutched his chest lightly in pain and breathing heavily. Right now, Kairo is resting in his room, exhausted and sleepy.

Although Kairo assured them that it was only normal, Kurapika was not convinced. How long had the man been using this ability and how much of his life force had been drained out now?

He himself had felt the symptoms that Kairo felt after using it. Pain in the chest, difficulty in breathing, and feeling lightheaded and nauseous. But because he's an expert in hiding his true emotions, he chose to be stoic about it. He wouldn't want Kurapika to fret out too much. She's been under enough stress already.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Kuroro walked towards the couch inside his study room where Kurapika and his kids were sitting. Krisu looked traumatized as he tried to get some rest between his mother's arms.

"How is he?" Kuroro asked as he sat down on a couch opposite them. Until now, he still can't believe how easily Johansen managed to kidnap Krisu with him around.

Hearing his father's voice, Krisu opened his eyes that were red from crying and looked at him. Then, the boys shifted slightly, trying to get out of his mother's arms. Kurapika understood and let go of her son. The boy slowly walked towards his fathers and settled himself on his lap. Smiling lightly, Kuroro wrapped his arms around the boy protectively. Feeling safe and sound, Krisu closed his eyes and slept peacefully, leaning on his father's chest.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kuroro had just finished tucking Krisu to his bed when his phone rang, with a call coming from Shlanark. He abruptly answered it, knowing that he will have some news about Johansen. And he wasn't wrong about it.

"_Danchou, we got him" _Shlanark's voice rang from the other line. _"What do you want us to do?"_

"Bring him here. I'll kill him myself." He said firmly and hung up. Unknown to him, Kurapika, who just finished tucking Karin to bed and is approaching him, had actually heard what he said and was a bit disapproving. She herself wanted to kill Johansen but it wouldn't be a good example for the kids, whether they know about it or not.

"Kuroro." She called out and the man turned to look at her. "Don't." She said, eyes furrowing.

"He deserves it." Kuroro blankly replied as he clenched his fists.

"And you deserve it too." The blonde replied with a stern voice. "You kill people every day in the past. You deserve to die, too. For the innocent people you slaughtered heartlessly." She said and took a step towards the unmoving form of Kuroro. Her hands rose up to clutch his arms firmly. "But you already stopped. So please... no more killing. I hate it. Enough blood has been shed."

When he heard Kurapika's pleading voice, his eyes turned gentle as he pulled the woman in an embrace. Dark thoughts started to invade his head with the information Shalnark had given him and if she hadn't said those words honestly, he would have been unable to control himself. He whispered a gentle 'thank you' at Kurapika's ears and she hugged him back.

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Kuroro's Spiders arrived very soon in the Gushiken Manor and as promised, they brought along the protesting Johansen, who was all beaten up from trying to escape from them. They brought him inside Kuroro's own study to avoid making any commotion outside and disturb the still awake servants. Although defeated, Johansen sported an incredible fighting spirit.

"You bastard." Johansen was kneeling as he cursed and looked at Kuroro. "Are you happy now, you backstabbing asshole?"

Kuroro remained silent, trying to restrain himself. Thankfully, Kurapika was beside him and was readying her chains. The couple finally came to a decision of what they will do to Johansen. Like what they did to Hisoka, Kurapika will pierce the man with the Judgement chain with the same condition like Hisoka's, only with some additions.

The blonde Kuruta stepped forward and summoned her Judgement chain. This is it. Johansen stared in confusion with what Kurapika was about to do.

"This is my Judgement chain." Kurapika started and Johansen 'tsked'.

"So what? You're gonna whip me with those chains?"

Instead of answering, Kurapika sent her chain flying towards the man, effectively piercing his left chest.

"What the-? What did you do to me?" he yelled angrily but Feitan suddenly kicked his stomach to shut him up. Kurapika did not protest. She herself wanted to punch the man and she's sure Kuroro is feeling the same way.

"I'll be giving you two conditions and you must follow them. If you break any of those two conditions, my chain inside your heart will kill you." Kurapika said coldly and Johansen's eyes widened.

"Are you threatening me? Who do you think you- Arrrggghhh!" the old man was not able to finish his words when Kurapika suddenly tugged her chains.

"This is no threat. I'm putting your life in your hands." He's now panting very hard. "First, never go after Bethel family and their friends. Or any family you have a grudge on. Second, once asked, tell the truth." Then, the Kuruta pulled away the chains from his chest, leaving the blade pierced and wrapped around his heart.

Kuroro also stepped forward since it's his turn to question the man. "Are you the one behind the anomaly of the Bethel financial department?" Johansen glared at him but nodded nonetheless, knowing that Kurapika was not joking about. "Who are you accomplices?"

The old man grunted. "Mr. Raison and a hacker named Fritz."

"Mr. Johansen, as far as I'm concerned, you're family is broke. You should have enough money to pay those men working for you and have the mansion where you hid my son. Who's supporting you?"

"I don't know." Came the blunt reply. Surprisingly, the chain did not do anything, meaning he's telling the truth. "Yes, someone is supporting me but I don't know who he is."

Kurapika looked at Kuroro and it seems like the man is now finished questioning him. After a few moments, he ordered his Spiders to take him out, away from the Gushiken district.

Now that Kuroro had confirmed that there really is someone behind Johansen's actions, he will find him no matter what.

Unknown to Kuroro, finding that person means revealing the whole truth to the events of his life 27 years ago.

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_1 month later..._

"Daddy, Mommy! Hurry!" Krisu excitedly jumped out of the car and ran towards the prestigious gates of the Bethel Institute of Technology. "Whoah! School!"

Karin also jumped out of the car and followed her brother. The two went past he open gates and were surprised to see a school this big and this beautiful for the first in their six years of existence. Kurapika soon followed the kids, keeping a close watch while Kuroro parked the car.

It was early in the morning and it has been a month since the kidnapping incident but thankfully, Krisu recovered quickly, leaving no trace of trauma from his expressions. Kurapika can't help but be amazed with the school that Kuroro founded. It practically emitted the aura of excellence but she's not sure whether the twins would really enjoy their stay here.

"What are you thinking?" Kuroro suddenly came up behind her.

"Nothing. I just think that the twins might get pressured here." She replied honestly as the two walked towards the elegant entrance of the school.

"And why would they be pressured?" the man asked curiously.

"Because we're their parents. People might expect too much from them."

Kuroro understood what she meant but did not say anything. They soon arrived inside the school and were greeted by the staff and the directors. Krisu and Karin were mesmerized by the sight and felt very special when the director himself welcomed them.

"Welcome, Kuroro-sama and Kurapika-sama." the director bowed in respect.

"It has been a while Director Hiko." The raven-haired man replied.

"When we heard you'll have your children study here, we immediately prepared everything for their coming."

"Thank you." Kuroro looked at the children, who're looking at the staff one by one. "Krisu, Karin." He called out and the twins immediately ran towards him.

Kurapika smiled lightly. "Introduce yourselves."

"Hello!" Krisu beamed at them. "I'm Krisu and this is my sister Karin!"

"Hey!" Karin said disapprovingly and the staff all chuckled.

"Such adorable children you have, Kuroro-sama. I'm sure they'd be as brilliant as you and Kurapika-sama are."

'_Just like what I thought' _Kurapika said inside her head.

"Take care of them as they study here." The blonde requested.

"Of course, Kurapika-sama. We will."

And that's how Krisu and Karin's first day in school went. Kurapika and Kuroro already left, with Yuri and Eri staying behind to guard them. They were ushered to their classroom and their first class was science, which Karin enjoyed dearly.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you okay?" Kuroro asked when he noticed Kurapika shift uncomfortably on her chair on their way back to the manor.

"Yeah. I guess so. I'm just feeling dizzy." She replied.

"Should I stop?"

"No, just drive."

Kuroro relented but drove quickly. When they arrived, Kurapika immediately headed towards their room and into the bathroom. Her peculiar behaviour made Kuroro _curious_ since this kind of thing only happened the last time when she was...

He sat on the couch inside their room and grabbed a nearby book, reading it while waiting for the blonde to emerge out of the bathroom. And when she did, Kuroro looked at her.

"You're pregnant." He said bluntly, making Kurapika tense up.

"I'm what?"

"Pregnant." He repeated generously. "Isn't it pretty obvious already? I've noticed you're always dizzy every morning in the past days."

Kurapika did not say anything. True, she had been dizzy and nauseous in the past few days but she dismissed the thought of being pregnant. But now that Kuroro pointed it out, it might be even true.

"Looks like the twin's wish will come true after all." He chuckled and Kurapika glared at him.

"Shut up." She sharply said and Kuroro smirked at her.

How happy Krisu and Karin would feel when they find out about this. They're about to have a baby sibling!

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**Author's Note:** _Wew! Chapter 18! I'm glad I finished it! Hey guys, Kuroro finally appeared in episode 41 on Hunter x Hunter 2011 series! But honestly, I prefer the 1999 Kuroro. The 2011 Kuroro seemed very dark compared to the 1999 Kuroro. And the 1999 Kuroro has more charisma! But I'll give the 2011 Kuroro a chance._ _Please read and review! There's going to be a big time jump in the next chapter. _

_Sorry if you don't like the idea of Kurapika being pregnant again. I just think that it's appropriate since she's old enough and the twins are already seven years old. Now what would you guys want? A baby girl or a baby boy? I'll let you decide. :)_

**Next:** _The twin's seventh birthday is approaching. Will they inherit their father's High One heritage or not? And there's a new addition in their little family! Kuroro makes a promise to Kurapika but soon breaks it. What can he do when the truth about his past is involved? _


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__ I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_ They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 19

Promise and Signs

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_Several months later..._

Everything went back to normal. Perfectly fine and not so chaotic; just the situation Kuroro wanted in his life. For eight months, there were no problems popping out of now where. It was a bit of surprise but the raven-haired man was grateful for it. He can be more focused in his piling work in the Bethel Corporations, personally pick up the kids from school (as requested by the twins), and take care of Kurapika and their growing child in her womb.

The couple originally planned to have their wedding by February. But because of Kurapika's condition, they had to postpone it. Not that Kuroro minded. He's still technically married to the blond in Kurutan culture and that was enough for him.

Right now, he's currently in the office, finishing up some paper work before attending some of his meetings in the board room. Ever since Johansen had been caught, the financial department now functioned properly. He fired Mr. Raison and the private investigators he hired tracked down the hacker and arrested him.

However, he did not allow for the investigation to go further. Kuroro knows that he'd make many more silent enemies and he wouldn't want that for a while, knowing the dangers it will inflict upon his family. Maybe one day, he'll have the opportunity to catch the person behind Johansen's actions and put an end to everything.

Another thing he had been thinking about is Kairo's ability. So far, in the past eight months, he only managed to use the ability four times and it incredibly hurt. Not only that, his past three visits in the Space and Time Vacuum is useless because he only managed to see a few things from the future and the past. He's still not used to its side effects and using it is not as easy as it looks. One must have full concentration in his mind and a stable nen.

Why he's using the ability despite knowing that it could kill him is because of his main goal. He is looking for an orb with a certain date in it; a date that he could not erase in his mind even after 27 years.

Sighing, Kuroro took off his reading glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then, he closed the laptop in front of him and arranged the stack of papers he just read and signed. After doing so, he sat still on his swivel chair, leaning his head back to rest. For a moment, Kuroro stayed like that until the double doors of his opened and Yumiko stepped inside. The man furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, knowing that his assistant would always knock before entering.

"Sir," she greeted him with a light smile on her face.

"What is it Yumiko?" he asked slowly, clearly tired.

"I think you have to go now."

Kuroro looked at his wrist watch then back to Yumiko. "I still have 30 minutes before the meeting with Myrtle Corporation."

"That's not it, sir." Yumiko shook her head. "You have to go to Gushiken Memorial Hospital. Miss Kurapika is in labour."

Kuroro unexpectedly tensed up and his brain tried to absorb his assistant's words. But when realization finally dawned him, the man abruptly stood up, grabbed his coat from the nearby coat rack and threw and few orders to Yumiko. He then remembered that Kurapika's due date is one of the days this week. It was unexpected to have it today.

"Cancel all my appointments. Reschedule them some other time." Without even waiting for the woman to reply, Kuroro was already out of the office and is hurriedly heading towards the hospital.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The raven-haired man arrived about 20 minutes later and he was graciously ushered by some nurses to the delivery room. Outside the delivery room, he found Kairo, and the twins, waiting for the news about Kurapika. The twins turned their heads towards their father and when they saw him, they immediately ran towards him, grinning wildly. It's Saturday so they don't have any classes. Kuroro chuckled when Krisu attacked his leg while Karin stopped in front of him.

"Daddy! You're here!" Krisu squealed happily, hugging his leg tightly.

"Grandpa said that our baby brother is going to arrive soon!" Karin added excitedly and her father responded with a nod. Yes, during Kurapika's fourth month of pregnancy, they went to a clinic to have an ultrasound. There they found out that the baby she's carrying is a boy. The doctor even printed some ultrasound pictures of the baby for them to keep. "It's the best advanced birthday gift ever!"

"Let's go now." Kuroro softly said to them and the trio walked back to where Kairo is waiting.

"Kuroro." Kairo greeted with a light nod. "It's the day you've been waiting for." The old man grinned and he's also clearly excited in having another grandson.

They four of them sat on a bench outside the delivery room. Kuroro and Kairo talked for a while as the twins played some sort of clapping game. It seems to Kuroro like the time is dragging slowly. Usually, the husband should always be present beside the wife when she's in labour or giving birth, to encourage and support her. However, since this is actually the first time Kuroro was there during her pregnancy, he had no idea what to do. He only knew that a man should give in to a pregnant woman's cravings because he will certainly face hell when he doesn't. A woman's mood swing is scary. What more if the woman is Kurapika?

For almost half a day, they stayed in the hospital. In the end, Kairo had to bring back the twins to the manor while Kuroro stays in the hospital to wait for the news. He didn't mind staying awake for too long. Actually, he preferred being here than in his office.

It turns out that Kuroro didn't have to wait that long. One more hour later, the doors of the delivery room finally opened up and a doctor, whose surgical mask had been pulled down and is clad in blue-green operation gown, stepped out, looking at Kuroro with a smile.

"Are you the father, sir?" the doctor asked and the raven-haired man nodded. "Congratulations, sir. It's a healthy baby boy." Kuroro was relieved to hear the 'healthy' part. He acknowledged the news with a genuine smile.

"When can I see her?" he asked.

"The nurses will guide you to her room once we've sent her and the baby there."

Then, Kuroro nodded again and the doctor went back to the delivery room to finish up some more things inside.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

She felt weak and dizzy and she can see stars everywhere inside her head. The room was white, much to her liking since she favoured light colours than darker ones. She shifted her head slowly and smiled upon landing her aquamarine eyes on the figure. Beside her is her sleeping baby boy.

Kurapika can't help but feel rather too happy upon landing her eyes on him. Any mother would feel that way. Not only that, Kurapika also felt relieve because this child will grow up with his father right beside him always. He's just so precious and delicate. Her hand reached out to stroke the back of the infant's head slowly and gently. The baby had dark blond hair, almost dirty blond, but his eyes weren't open so she can't tell what their colour is. This boy is their fourth child and the third living one. The blonde wondered when Kuroro will come to see her. Surely he received the news about her water bag breaking and being taken in the hospital.

As if her thoughts had been heard, the door of the private room opened and a certain raven-haired man stepped inside. Kurapika turned her head the other ways and saw the person she had been looking for. Kuroro gave her a warm smile before closing the door and approaching her lying figure. He sat on a chair beside her bed and looked at the baby.

"How are you?" he asked first.

"Seriously. Try being in my position right now and see how much you like it." The Spider head nodded understandingly with a light chuckle. He remembered being scolded by Neon when she once visited Kurapika during her fifth month of pregnancy.

"_You should know what to do, Kuroro! Your wife is going to push out a nine-inch watermelon out of her..."_ and the rest was forgotten when Kurapika gagged the wailing girl to prevent her from saying anything further.

"His hair is the combination of our colours." Kuroro stated when he snapped out of his thoughts and the blonde nodded.

"Yeah. I noticed." She whispered tiredly. Kuroro then got up and walked around the bed. He stopped on the side where the baby boy is lying and he stared down at him. The man then held out his hand and ran his fingers through the smooth cheeks of his son.

"What should we name him?" he asked as the newborn stirred slightly from his father's touch.

For a while, Kurapika did not answer. She just stared at Kuroro's gentle hands caressing their child's cheeks. Such gesture from the usually cold and calculating man made her heart flutter and race. Then, she finally opened her mouth to speak.

"What do you think of Kyoumir?" the name she came up with is actually the combination of their respective late fathers' names; Kyouta and Aamir.

"Sounds good." He whispered. The baby suddenly stirred as his tiny hands opened and clutched Kuroro's caressing finger tightly. Kyoumir cried a little and his mother immediately patted him gently on the chest to hush him down. The baby then finally let go of Kuroro's finger before going back to sleep.

"Karin and Krisu will love him." Kurapika whispered tenderly as she continued patting.

"I'm sure they will." The man replied and glanced at the wall calendar of the room. Kyoumir was born on August 14 while the twins' seventh birthday will be on September 27. They will be celebrating two birthdays in two consecutive months from now on.

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_30 days later..._

Kyoumir is now officially one month old. Ever since Kurapika and Kuroro with Kyoumir returned from the hospital about one week after being there, the twins have been practically visiting their room, hoping to play with their baby brother with every visit. They were absolutely delighted and thrilled and so was Kairo. The only man almost did not stop taking pictures of the little one whether he is sleeping, eating, playing with the twins, or simple staring at the ceiling of the room.

Sometimes, after Kuroro would come home from work, he would first set aside his paper works and spend some time with his son, doing what a normal father should. Since he's new to this, Kairo basically helped him by giving him advice on how to handle babies, especially when they throw impossible tantrums.

However, it seems like Kyoumir is not that kind of baby. He's just too _happy, _often smiling whenever he sees either his mother or father and laughing when his brother, sister, or grandfather plays with him. Kurapika and Kuroro can't help but wonder where he got that very cheerful personality.

Right now, Kurapika is changing Kyoumir's sleeping suit when Karin and Krisu came in the room again for the nth time. The two just came from school, picked up by their father. Soon enough, Kuroro entered the room and settled his things on the coffee table not far from the bed. The twins hurriedly climbed up the bed and sat beside where their baby brother is lying.

"Hello, Kyou-chan!" Krisu greeted cheerfully and the baby responded by smiling broadly. Upon seeing this, Krisu squealed and placed a gentle peck on the baby's forehead. Meanwhile, Karin just touched his hand as Kyoumir's fingers coiled around her own.

Kuroro then approached the four figures and sat on the edge of the bed, watching silently with a knowing smile. The twins continued cooing and playing with Kyoumir until the latter opened his mouth and yawned. Kurapika then told the twins to go back to their rooms to study and sleep, which the two agreed with hesitance.

When finally alone, Kurapika gently lifted Kyoumir and put him in her lap. The baby was surprisingly very mobile, often tying to get out of his mother's grasp and move even though he's only a month old. Well, the doctor did say that babies normally do that since they're too curious of their surroundings. Therefore, the parents should just let him do what he wanted as long as they watch him closely to make sure he's safe.

When Kyoumir managed to get out of his mother's hold, he laughed and tried so hard to crawl on the soft sheets of the bed towards his father. But because his tiny bones and weak muscles can't help him, he didn't even move an inch from his spot. Kuroro can't help but chuckle at his son's futile attempt to reach him and his two arms reached out to lift the baby himself. Kyoumir laughed pleasantly as his father carried him.

"I thought you want to sleep." Kuroro whispered to the infant while cradling him gently and swirling one finger in front of him as if trying to hypnotize him. Kyoumir made hand clapping gestures while smiling widely, trying to catch the finger.

Kurapika just watched the scene before her when she remembered one thing. "Kuroro," she called out and the man looked at him. "Two more weeks and it will be the twins' _seventh_ birthday."

Kuroro nodded thoughtfully. "We must throw a party then." He suggested as the curious Kyoumir tugged his father's loosened tie that was tickling his nose.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about." Kurapika said sternly and Kuroro looked at her. "I'm talking about the mark."

The raven-haired man obviously flinched a little. "The High One's mark." He whispered audibly.

"That's right. I don't know if I want them to have it or not."

"It's much better if they don't." Kuroro looked down on his son and saw him closing his dark blue eyes. The colour was also a combination of Kurapika's aquamarine eyes and his obsidian ones. "It will be troublesome if the mark appears on any visible part of their body like their hands, the face, or their legs."

Kurapika remained quiet and saw that Kyoumir had finally fallen asleep in his father's embrace.

"And it will be dangerous for them, too." The man continued. "You do know that my mother was hunted by a mafia family, don't you?" he asked and the Kuruta nodded. "Until now, the mafia family that killed her was not yet caught."

The blonde stiffened at this. If that mafia family finds out about Karin and Krisu having the mark of a High One, the two would surely be in danger... again. Kurapika already had enough of dangers. It wasn't like this before she came back to Kuroro. But that doesn't mean she regretted ever coming back. If she didn't, Kyoumir wouldn't be with them right now.

Standing up, Kuroro walked towards the baby basket situated at the side of their bed and gently laid his son down, careful not to disturb him in his sleep. He sure knows how to handle babies now, thanks to Kairo's (and Shalnark's) help. He pulled the blanket up to cover Kyoumir up to his chest to prevent him from catching cold. The baby made incoherent sounds before quieting down and resuming his slumber.

The man then proceeded to change his clothes while Kurapika settled herself on the bed, taking out her own laptop and typed something in it. Unknown to Kuroro, Kurapika is actually writing a new book. But this time, it's a novel and not documentary-like books that she would usually write. The blonde decided that it will take a very long time before she could resume her work in the Underground River. And besides, she believed that as a writer she must indulge herself in other areas of writing.

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Karin woke up very early in the morning and stared at the calendar on her bedside table.

"One week and six days more." She whispered happily, excited at the thought that her birthday with Krisu is approaching fast.

The little girl jumped out of her bed and hurriedly fixed her hair. She opened her wardrobe and pulled out her B.I.T. uniform for school. After doing so, she grabbed her towel and proceeded inside her bathroom to take a refreshing shower before going down to eat breakfast with her brother. Krisu is usually a little late than her since the boy loves playing in than shower that actually cleaning himself.

After finishing her bath, Karin immediately and efficiently dried herself up, applied some lotion to her arms and legs, and combed her wet hair. She stared in front of the mirror smiling, contented in her look. She then wore her skirt and the sleeveless buttoned, white shirt that is to be topped by a dark blue blazer. But before she looked away, Karin noticed a dark smudge on her mirror. Curious, the little girl reached out and tried to wipe the black stain away. However, it did not come off. That's when she realized that the smudge did not come from the mirror but from her. Karin looked at her left shoulder and noticed the smudge there.

The girl tried to rub it off, thinking that it's some sort of dirt that she missed while showering. Unfortunately, it did not some off no matter what. Sighing in defeat, Karin finally ignored the smudge and wore her blazer. It may come off sometime.

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"Arrggghh! We're crash landing! Psshh! Woooooohhh!" Krisu yelled dramatically as his left hand held a toy boat floating on the water while the other is grasping his toy airplane, flying it around while sitting in the tub. Soon enough, the toy airplane 'crashed' in the waters and sunk down at the bottom of the 'sea'. "Blub, blub blub!" the boy added a sound effect of forming bubbles. "The enemy has fallen!"

Krisu was about to continue with his role playing with the plane being fixed by merfolks and flying back to the sky when he heard three loud knocks from outside.

"Young Master, enough playing and clean yourself." He heard his maid plead. With an irritated sigh, Krisu replied loudly.

"Okaaayy!" then, the maid was gone. The boy wanted to play some more but he knew he would be late for school. So, he proceeded to wash his hair and body.

As he was rubbing his hands together, he noticed something dark on his left palm. It looked like some dirt so he took more soap in and rubbed the dark stain away. However, no matter how much he tried to wash it away, it just won't come off. Being a stubborn child, Krisu refused to lose. He started to practically scratch off the dirt. He was scratching so hard that it almost looked like he's going to scratch off his skin instead.

When it all hurt now, the boy gave up, but not without an annoyed frown. Then, he continued bathing to prepare himself for school.

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The twins came down early in the morning in the dining hall for breakfast. Kuroro and Kurapika are already there, with the giving attention to Kyoumir, who was contentedly seated on a high baby chair comfortably. Karin arrived first, ready for school with her bag and everything. She gave Kyoumir a kiss on the cheek before sitting down and eating her breakfast. A few minutes later, Krisu turned up and unlike Karin, he's not really that ready. His school tie was loose and his hair was no fixed.

As expected, Krisu approached his mother to fix him up. Kurapika let out a sigh before doing his ties properly and using her hand to comb back his hair. Kuroro all the while just continued eating while reading his reports in his laptop. He sipped his coffee while Krisu seated himself on a chair beside his.

"Krisu, you hand is dirty. Go wash it." He heard Kurapika order the boy.

"Eh? But mommy, it won't come off." Krisu replied and held out his hand, showing his palm to Kurapika.

Out of curiosity, Kuroro shifted his eyes from the laptop to his son's hand. When he saw the dark smudge on the surface, his eyes practically widened in shock.

_It can't be..._ he thought to himself. Kuroro looked at Karin and the girl seemed uninterested as she was eating her breakfast. Then, he turned his attention back to Krisu, who started eating too.

"Really? It won't come off?" Kuroro heard himself ask the boy. He just had to confirm it.

"Yup! It's so annoying. No matter how much I scrub it just won't get erased!" the boy complained loudly and Kyoumir laughed at his big brother.

Kuroro did not reply as Krisu stabbed his bacon with his fork and devoured it. He looked at Kurapika by slightly shifting his gaze and he saw her attending to Kyoumir. As far as he's concerned, he hadn't actually told her that a High One's mark will start appearing in about one to two weeks before the seventh birthday and will be completed one to two weeks after the birthday. If his speculations are correct, then the smudge on Krisu's palm is not just any stain. It might be the mark appearing. But it's almost impossible to believe because Krisu is only one fourth High One since he himself is a half breed. Is it really possible for someone like his son and daughter to actually inherit his High One blood and mark?

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Later that day, Kuroro finished his work early and fetched the kids from school. When they arrived back in the manor, the twins hurriedly climbed to their rooms to change their clothes and then proceed to their parents' room to play with Kyoumir again. However, Kuroro knew that they will be having major examinations this week and he ordered them to study instead of playing. Karin agreed immediately and went back to her room. However, Krisu tried to persuade him to give him only a few minutes. But his father did not agree because if he does, it only meant that his cycle of spoiling this certain young raven-haired boy will start again. With a defeated face, Krisu walked back to his room to also study.

Finally seeing them obeying him, Kuroro entered his shared room with Kurapika and saw baby Kyoumir playing with a rubber toy fish. He bit and chewed on it playfully and drool rolled from his toothless mouth down his chin. Seeing this, Kuroro put his thing down, took a cotton towel nearby and wiped the liquid off his son's face. Kyoumir giggled as he dropped the rubber toy and grabbed the towel instead. Smiling, Kuroro let go of the towel and his son proceeded to play with it.

The man looked around and he found Kurapika outside the balcony, talking to someone over the phone. He stalked towards her and heard some last fragments of the conversation.

"... will send you tomorrow. Yes, all the files I wrote. Thank you." Then, Kurapika hung up. She then felt another presence behind her and she turned around.

"I thought we agreed that you won't work until Kyoumir is old enough." Kuroro said disapprovingly as he stepped closer to her.

The blonde sighed. "I can't help it. I don't like being cooped up here." Kurapika had gotten used to travelling in her seven years as an information hunter that staying in one place for too long is too boring for her.

"You're just like Krisu." Kuroro grinned. Kurapika just turned around to watch the nightlights of the Gushiken district. But then, she felt the man snaking his arms around her waist. Not that she minded.

"I wonder if Kyoumir would grow up and become just like Uncle Kairo? He's too happy." she whispered and pondered silently.

"You mean too cheerful, child-like, and carefree?" Kuroro asked as he rested his chin on the Kuruta's shoulder.

"No. I mean a prankster, sadist, and unmindful person." She corrected and the man chuckled pleasantly.

"You're too much of a negative thinker. Stop it. It's bad for your health."

This time, it was Kurapika who chuckled. "Yeah, right." Then she heard Kyoumir giggle loudly and she shifted her neck to look at the baby inside. He was just playing with both the towel and the rubber toy fish. Kurapika smiled contentedly.

"You know what; I'm starting to get jealous of Kyoumir." Kuroro whispered playfully and tightened his hold around his lover.

"And why would you get jealous of our son?" Kurapika asked and she felt rather odd upon saying the words 'our son'. It's so new to her.

"He gets you all for himself. 24/7."

"He's a baby, you idiot." The blonde scolded him.

"Hmmm..." Kuroro hummed. "I know. But I'm still jealous. You have to make it up to me." Kurapika turned around to face him and that's just what he wanted. He bent down and quickly pressed his own lips to meet her soft ones. Kurapika responded by kissing him back and wrapping her arms around his neck. They haven't done this for a while and Kuroro became a little forceful. Then, he broke the kiss and stared down and the flushing Kuruta.

"We should do that more often." He chuckled and leaned down again to press a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Kuroro." The blonde called out and he pulled back. "Tell me honestly how many times you've used Uncle Kairo's Space and Time Vacuum?"

"Four times." The man replied abruptly. "Why?"

"Stop it." This time, Kurapika was staring at him intently. "I don't want you to use it. Ever." She sounded like a wife forbidding her husband to go out with his friends a drink.

Kuroro could only sigh. "Kurapika, I won't die because I was using his ability. I have many years to spare."

"I don't care." Kurapika replied sharply. "You don't even know how much life force can be sucked out every time you use it. What if it could actually deduct five years with every use? Then you've just lost 20 years of your life."

Then man then chuckled upon hearing her explanation. "Kurapika, you're exaggerating it."

"I'm not exaggerating and it's not funny at all. Think about the twins and Kyoumir. They just got you back. I just got you back. I..." _I don't want to lose you_, she trailed off. "I don't want Kyoumir to grow up without a father yet again. So I'm taking this chance to stop you. I know Uncle Kairo's ability is powerful and very useful but I don't care about it and neither should you."

For a moment, Kuroro only stared at her pleading eyes. He didn't know that it will affect her this much. He curled his lips upward and nodded. "Fine. It seems to me like you really don't want to lose me." He grinned mischievously and the Kuruta looked away, not meeting his gaze and flushing slightly.

"So what?" she replied honestly and Kuroro chuckled.

He pulled her closer to him until there was no space between then and he was hugging her. "Alright. I'll stop." Then, he felt her let out a relieved sigh. "Only if I get kisses every time I come home."

"You jerk." He heard her say and pulled away from his embrace. "Your perversion is getting worse."

"I'm not being perverted. It's actually the wife's duty to give those to her husband." His naughty, smug and teasing smirk came back after so many years of not seeing it. "I think you're not doing your job well."

Kurapika groaned annoyingly and stepped back. "Whatever." She replied in defeat and went back inside to tuck Kyoumir to his baby basket.

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That night, Kuroro couldn't sleep. No matter how much he tried, he just couldn't. Finally, he got from the bed and looked at the digital clock on the bedside table. The time read twin thirty in the morning. Kurapika is sleeping soundly beside him, her front facing him. Slowly and quietly, Kuroro moved slightly and planted a kiss on her cheek, whispering the word "Sorry" as he did so. Then, he got up from the bed and walked out of the balcony.

Opening one door, he slipped outside and closed it again. The cold breeze hit his entire body but he did not feel the cold. Then, he summoned his Skill Book and flipped it's pages to the one with his newly stolen ability.

He closed his eyes, concentrating himself and his nen, until h felt the same sensation he would feel every time he uses that certain ability. It was like being sucked in by Shizuku's vacuum cleaner, Deme-chan. Soon, after a few seconds of stillness, Kuroro's body disappeared from that exact spot.

And that's when Kyoumir cried hard during his sleep for the first time.

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**Author's Note:** _Yay! I finally finished Chapter 19! I hope you all like Kyoumir and I also hope Kuroro is not OCC in this chapter. And I also finished watching Episode 42 of Hunter X Hunter reboot. Omahgawd! Kuroro is so hot! Why isn't he wearing any shirt? And there's a movie of Hunter X Hunter coming out next year! It's about Kurapika and the Genei Ryodan (My life is complete. I can die happy now!)... I'd wager that it will show how Genei Ryodan massacred the Kuruta tribe and how Kurapika survived (I hope so...). So there you have it... Chapter 19! Please Read and Review!_

**Next:** _The twins' birthday fast approaching and the dark smudges on the respective parts of their body is not getting any lighter. Did they really inherit their father's High One blood? Kuroro finally finds the orb he had been looking for and Kurapika finds out that Kuroro broke his promise. Oh boy, she's angry._


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**: **__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 20

High Ones

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Seven years ago, when Kuroro and Kurapika went to Lanikai for their monthly vacation and scarlet eyes retrieval mission, he looted the whole mansion of Congressman Tsuboya that contained many priceless artefacts. There were many of those precious treasures that he sold in the black market and he donated the money he generated to Ryuusegai. However, there is one certain artefact that he kept. It was a tome containing dusty pages and a stale colour, probably hundreds or thousands years old. He carefully preserved the said book because it contains very important information about his heritage. Who would have thought that he will take it out once again to read after a long time?

The book laid open on his lap as Kuroro read the left page that discusses about the cross mark. According to Markuss, the book was written about 200,000 years ago by the early High Ones shamans, the first ones to utilize nen.

Kuroro discovered many interesting facts about his heritage and he doubt that anyone knew this much like him since the book is probably the last of its kind. It's only right for Kuroro to have it.

In the book, it was said that during the Great War for the Dark Continent between different ancient tribes, the High Ones were the ones who're at the peak of victory. They were said to be the descendants of the gods because they have immeasurable power and talents that can be sued destroy anyone who gets in their way. Their 'immeasurable power' is actually nen. The elders and shamans of the High Ones tribe were the only people allowed to handle such power, which they believed to be the spirits of their gods.

The 1200 years of war ended with the Dark Continent being closed and erased from the world map, with the High Ones guarding it since they were the victors of the war. However, their victory was short-lived when another tribe, called the Blood Ones, was able to discover their source of power and successfully manipulated it. They overpowered the High Ones and drove them away, dividing their tribe and scattering them all over the world. Some Blood Ones even killed a few High Ones to gain their blood and life years while others enjoyed the thrill of hunting them, thus the name 'Blood Ones'.

High Ones have peculiar cross tattoos appearing in any part of their body once they turn seven. It was discovered that only High Ones with the tattoo have acquired the life-prolonging blood and are gifted with so much potential and many talents. The cross tattoo functions like a Kuruta's scarlet eyes. Though it does not help in manipulating all nen types, the mark helps a High One master nen at an early age. That's how Kuroro managed to learn nen at such young age.

As Kuroro reread the page, he noticed the rustling noise from the bed. He looked up and saw Kurapika tiredly standing up while carrying baby Kyoumir between her arms. Last night, Kyoumir cried really hard for the first time that it caused the blonde to stay up almost all night just to calm the wailing infant down. Fortunately, Kuroro managed to return after two minutes from the Time and Space Vacuum before Kurapika noticed that the space beside her is empty.

The man took a glance at the digital calendar on the bedside table and frowned. It's still four more days before the twins' seventh birthday and the people in the manor have long started preparing for a grand birthday party (courtesy of Kairo). Somehow, Kurapika haven't noticed how the smudge on Krisu's hand is expanding rapidly and how the boy did not say anything about it. Kuroro still did not notice anything strange to Karin. Maybe she did not have the mark?

Kuroro was once again disturbed from his thoughts when he heard soft baby cries coming from the balcony. Closing the book and keeping it inside a nearby drawer, he stood up and sauntered towards his wife and son. As soon as Kyoumir landed his dark blue eyes on Kuroro, his crying died down a little and he laughed a slightly with his tongue stuck out.

Kuroro chuckled and he held his hands to him. Kurapika then transferred the baby to his arms while she sighed in relief.

"Seriously, how do you do that?" the blonde asked desperately. Seeing how relaxed her son is in Kuroro's arms, she can't help but wonder what kind of special effect the man has with babies.

"Do what?" the man asked back as he gently tried to peel off Kyoumir's hand that was gripping his shirt collar tightly. Kyoumir made cooing sounds as he 'clapped'.

Kurapika sighed. She reminisced the time when the twins were still a few months old. They were so hard to handle that the teenage Kurapika almost wanted to cry, as uncharacteristic as it may sound. But eventually, she got used to it. Right now, she thinks Kuroro is also getting used to it. Just because he's still the leader of the Genei Ryodan and a ruthless killer doesn't mean that he has no soft sides he hides. Usually, he would only show those certain sides to her, the twins, and most recently to Kyoumir.

By observing him silently with Kyoumir, the blonde concluded three facts about Kuroro. First, the man actually liked carrying Kyoumir. Whenever the baby just wakes up from his nap, Kuroro would carry him and walk around the mansion or the garden, a soft smile on his face.

Second, Kuroro liked playing with their youngest child. As a baby, Kyoumir is very much not that conscious of his surroundings. Kuroro used that as a reason for him to buy toys for the baby to play with. In other words, Kyoumir is unaware that his Daddy is spoiling him.

Third fact and the truest between the three is that Kuroro _loves_ Kyoumir. The word love may be very foreign to someone like Kuroro but that's the only thing Kurapika could come up with. Despite the public finding out about his private life, the man never once mentioned the twins or Kyoumir in the media. It's his way of protecting them from his enemies in the business world. He is most especially careful when it comes to Kyoumir since the baby is too innocent for his own good. Such early exposure to the public will not be good once he grows up.

Kuroro is really trying hard, she can tell. Though it seems weird to act like a normal father, he did it successfully. But sometimes, he just can't help but instil some of his peculiar 'learning' to the twins, especially to Karin. He even dared to bring the little girl along in one of his Spider's stealing spree. Fortunately, Krisu found out and told Kurapika, making the blonde so angry at Kuroro that her eyes turned scarlet (NOTE: Kurapika was pregnant during this time). From that day on, Kuroro reminded himself never to try and bring along Krisu as well, knowing full well that the boy inherited his mother's sense of justice. Karin practically enjoyed watching her Papa's Spider's 'playing' with the people chasing them and she's waiting for the time when she can join the fun 'game'.

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"Blue!"

"Purple!"

"Blue!"

"Purple!"

The argument continued no matter how much the maids tried to stop them. Karin crossed her arms in defiance while Krisu glared at his sister with arms resting on his hips. The maids sighed. This is one of the rare moments when the twins actually argued to no end. The only people who can stop them are either Kuroro or Kurapika. But it seems like their parents are unaware of the little war going on.

"I want blue streamers! Not purple! It looks ugly!" Krisu yelled angrily, lips pouting and eyes piercing.

"Well, you should at least consider what I want and I want purple streamers. I already gave way to blue balloons." Karin responded angrily.

"Young miss, young master... please stop." One of the maids pleaded uselessly.

"Stay out of this." Karin coldly spoke, just like how Kuroro does when he's clearly pissed off at no other than a certain blonde Kuruta.

The argument about the decorations for their birthday party continued nonetheless. Surprisingly, it happens that Kuroro was on one of his day offs and is currently walking around the mansion with Kyoumir between his arms. Kurapika was sort of busy again in her own study room because of her delayed book about the Underground River so the man opted to take care of their baby boy. Not that he doesn't trust Kyoumir's babysitter; he just wanted to spend some time with him.

When he came across the two quarrelling kids, Kyoumir let out an excited giggle. Kuroro furrowed his eyebrows and watched and listened to the twins.

"Blue!"

"Purple!"

"Blueeeee!"

"Stop acting spoiled!"

Then, the man chuckled and sauntered towards the two. Krisu was the first one to notice his Daddy coming so he shifted his head and grinned broadly upon seeing them. Karin was also distracted and mimicked her brother's action.

"Kyou-chan!" the boy happily called out and ran towards his father. "Kyou-chan! Onii-san is here!"

Kyoumir clapped his hands and laughed.

"Are you two quarrelling again?" Kuroro asked, to which Karin responded with a nod. "And what is it about?" Kyoumir only made cooing sounds.

"Party streamers colour." His little girl replied curtly. Kuroro kneeled down on one knee, allowing the twins to reach out or kiss their little brother.

"Very well then, wanna settle your fight?" their father asked once again, this time smiling knowingly.

Krisu cocked his head sideways with a questioning look. "How?" Karin somehow had a hint on what her father is talking about since she only stayed quiet while contemplating.

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As soon as Kuroro transferred Kyoumir to his baby sitter's care, he went downstairs to fetch the twins, who almost started a new argument about their birthday party. He quickly led them out of the mansion for an 'outing' and they drove towards the capital of Gushiken district. There, the trio proceeded to stop in front of a large gymnasium with a basketball court inside. Unknown to the twins, their father actually reserved the gym for the next five hours.

Karin and Krisu ran inside with awed faces. They looked around for balls to play with but were stopped when Kuroro called them out. They then noticed that the doors have been locked from the inside.

"Now, you two should settle your argument this way." He grinned at them, knowing full well that he's confusing them more. He's using the same method Kairo used on him and Kurapika. Well, almost the same anyway.

"Basketball?" Karin asked with a frown but her father shook his head. Then, the man summoned his Skill book and opened it. However, he did not flip the pages. He doesn't need to use an ability this time.

"The first one to make my Skill book disappear from my right hand wins." The twins looked at each other and Kuroro explained further. "My Skill book stays intact when my nen is stable. However, when disrupted, it disappears quickly."

"So, the first one who disrupts your nen wins." the blonde concluded.

"I will not use any skill from the book. Just my physical abilities. How's that?"

Although they're doing this to settle the twins' quarrel earlier, Kuroro actually has a second intention. He wants to see for himself the improvement in his children's developing nen and abilities. Also, he wants to confirm if they inherited his High One blood. Though the mark can be seen in Krisu, he still can't be sure about Karin. When a child starts to have the High One mark, he or she exhibits a personality, ability, attitude, or power that was never been done or seen before. The man hopes that with this, he's going to push the twins to their limits and confirm his suspicions. He even purposely drove to the capital in order to prevent Kurapika from detecting what he's doing. He'd be a dead mean for sure.

"You can use nen if you'd like. Your time limit is five hours." He looked down at them with a challenging smile. Karin narrowed her eyes while Krisu clenched his fists in preparation. "Start."

With that one word, Krisu immediately lunged forward, his feet powered by nen. To make the Skill book disappear, he had to _hit_ his father, as improper as it may sound. As the boy, whose eyes were scarlet with excitement, was about to deliver a kick near Kuroro's arm, the man shielded himself with his left elbow. However, Karin was already by his side, trying to grab his right wrist.

With a smirk, Kuroro suddenly disappeared, only to reappear about five metres behind them

"No fair! You used teleportation!" Krisu bellowed, pouting as he landed on the ground effortlessly.

Kuroro only continued smiling. "Teleportation? I was merely too fast for your eyes." True, he moved with enough speed to make the kids think he used one of his skills.

"Hmp." The boy turned his head sideways in annoyance and his father chuckled.

"Are you giving up, Krisu? We're just starting."

Suddenly, Karin used her transformation nen and created sword-like figures made entirely of nen. Then, she threw those towards her father, seriously trying to aim for his wrist. Kuroro smiled upon seeing this. His daughter is getting serious by the minute and so is his son. The two continued chasing after him, but their attempts were useless. Even though they're still six, they had enough stamina to allow them to run around for a couple of hours.

Karin's eyes were also red and the girl felt like her body was so light. She felt thrilled and excited since she's actually facing her own father, whose existence she respected. Ever since she found out that her father is the leader of the infamous group Genei Ryodan, she can't help but feel rather proud. The girl had always been fond of things that are interesting in her eyes. She doesn't care whether they're good or bad, just as long as they entertain her. She really was so much like Kuroro in so many ways.

However, Krisu was different. When he found out about that fact, he tried his best not to get angry at his sister or Daddy for getting along too well when it comes to things that he and his mother disagree about.

Back to the current situation of their game, it has been four hours since they started. Kuroro was not even sweating as he stood a few metres away from the panting twins. They used almost all of the tactics they could think of and consumed all their energy contending against each other. They still need enough experience before they can actually beat their father.

"Why don't you two work together?" the man suggested as he sat down on the ground with his Skill book still open. "Wouldn't that be easier?"

"But... if we do... who'll win?" Krisu asked, referring to their earlier and almost forgotten argument about the party decorations.

"This is no longer a competition, Krisu." Kuroro replied with a light yet challenging smirk. "Show me how compatible you two are."

Karin frowned at this. True, in the past four hours, she and Krisu had been in an unending competition of who can make the Skill book disappear first. Sometimes she would restrain her brother when he gets too close and Krisu does the same thing to her. Inhaling and exhaling greatly, the little blonde straightened up and walked towards her brother.

"Let's work together." The argument no longer mattered. All she wants is to defeat her father.

Seeing that she's serious, Krisu nodded and quickly thought of something before the time limit ends. His eyes shifted to the left and he saw white towels that were neatly folded on a nearby bench. He looked back at his father and whispered something to his sister's ear. Karin nodded with a sly grin and Kuroro's eyebrows rose up in curiosity of what plan the two had come up with.

Suddenly, the boy quickly sprinted towards the bench to grab three towels. When he successfully got them, Krisu immediately tied the towels at their ends to attach them with each other. Since he is in the manipulation type, he applied nen on those towels and controlled their movements. At this, Kuroro quickly stood up as Karin lunged forward again to begin another useless session of grabbing his right hand that is holding the Skill book. As always, Kuroro would just dodge for a few millimetres to prevent his daughter from touching him.

His mistake.

"Karin!" Krisu yelled out and tossed the nen-controlled tied towels to his sister. The girl grabbed it with her free hand and quickly threw it to her father's left hand while he was dodging. She used it like a lasso to increase her reach and it wrapped around his left wrist while Krisu tried his best to prevent the towel from peeling off with his aura.

As quickly as she can, Karin landed on the ground and sprinted backwards. "Krisu, now!"

Their plan was simple. They first had to restrain Kuroro's left hand by pulling it backwards with the towel-turned-lasso, and then, Krisu will lunge forward and grab the right hand that holds the Skill book. If they execute this successfully, they will finally win.

However, Kuroro was not the type to be deceived easily by such tricks. He's still physically stronger than Karin so he used that strength and hauled the girl forward.

Another mistake.

Kuroro did not properly estimate the amount of strength he used and he accidentally threw Karin with so much force towards the sprinting Krisu.

"Ahhh!"

"Wha-Kar-." The boy was cut off when he felt his sister hit his body. The twins flew backwards and landed roughly on the ground on their backs. Krisu grunted painfully as he tried to push his sister away. "Get off. Oof."

Kuroro could only stare at his mistake. It was as if he was sporting a look that definitely says 'I didn't mean it'. Karin finally managed sat up on the ground and curled herself into a ball.

"Ne, Karin, what's wrong?" Krisu asked worriedly when the girl trembled.

"It hurts." She whispered while clutching her stomach in pain.

Upon hearing that, Kuroro immediately sauntered towards the girl.

_Damn. I didn't think her stomach pain will attack her today._ The man thought as he kneeled in front of the whimpering girl, his _Skill book_ still intact on his right hand.

"Karin." He called out and patted the girl's head. "Let's go home for your medicine."

But suddenly, to his great surprise, Karin looked up with a sly smile and quickly grabbed his right hand with her two arms. Krisu laughed and threw himself towards his father, sending the three of them falling down the floor.

"Gotcha!" Karin triumphantly exclaimed as she lay on the ground and clung tightly on Kuroro's right arm. The Skill book then disappeared.

"We won!" the raven-haired boy laughed along with his sister.

Seeing this, Kuroro can't help but laugh along with the two. So this was their plan all along. Get themselves into an 'accident' and prepare an act like this. The man sat up and looked at his grinning kids.

"I can't believe we tricked you! Am I that good?" Karin asked, referring to her acting skills. So, she inherited her Papa's believable acting skills too.

Kuroro chuckled. "I can't believe it either."

"But seriously, it hurts, Papa." Krisu complained as he rubbed his cheek. A small purple bruise formed there and it was probably from the fall.

"Sorry." The man apologized with a light grin. "Should I treat you two to the ice cream shop then?"

"Yeah!" the twins agreed playfully.

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The three arrived home later that evening, almost during dinner time. As expected, Kurapika was downstairs, waiting for them to arrive while cradling Kyoumir, who is peacefully playing with his favourite fish toy. Upon sensing their presence, the blonde looked up and furrowed her eyebrows. She stood up and approached the trio.

"And where have you three been?" she asked, clearly angry at Kuroro. "Don't tell me you took them to one of your Spiders'-."

"I didn't." Kuroro quickly interrupted, much to Kurapika's annoyance.

"Then where did you go?" she asked again, directing her question to Karin.

"Eh?" the little girl pointed at herself. "Ummm... where did we go, Krisu?"

"Me?" Krisu asked. "I dunno. Where did we go, Daddy?" he grinned at his father.

Kuroro looked at his son then to Kurapika. "We trained." He explained briefly.

"Trained?" but the Kuruta was suddenly distracted when Kyoumir abruptly moved between her arms and threw his toy fish to the ground. She sighed as Krisu crouched down to pick up the toy, making the baby laugh again.

"Let's have dinner, shall we?" Kuroro suggested just to avoid being questioned again. He was secretly thankful for Kyoumir's little act.

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That same night, Kuroro broke his promise to the Kuruta for the second time. Kurapika went back to bed first since the man excused himself, saying that he'll be sleeping late to catch up in his work in the company. Fortunately, the blonde believed him without suspecting him even just for a bit and for that, Kuroro was grateful.

During the training session with the twins, Kuroro did not see anything strange to Karin. Though he noticed that Krisu's critical thinking skills and manipulation nen has sharpened. The last time he had seen the boy control something, he only did it with animals. But now, he was able to apply it to inanimate objects too. It was a good improvement, Kuroro thought. However, he doesn't know whether it's because of the High One's mark.

Closing his laptop with a soft click, Kuroro concluded that he's done with his 'work' for tonight. There's something else he needed to do and that is to visit the Space and Time Vacuum once again. In his past visits, though useless, he noticed something in the orbs that appear in the Space. If the time or date he's looking for is already too far, the orbs will rarely appear. Kairo was the only one who can use the ability decently. The old man can even travel about 200 years ago or 200 years in the future. However, since Kuroro is still adjusting himself, he encounters a lot of difficulties and the more he pushes himself, the more the side effects will hurt him. But the more he visits the Vacuum, the more likely will the orb he's been looking will appear.

Kuroro closed his eyes as he stood facing the open window of his study room. He once again concentrated himself and his nen while he held his Skill book open on the right hand. A few second later he disappeared.

When the man opened his eyes, he was greeted by the usual darkness. He glanced around and the Time Spheres appeared, other white while others blue. He wandered his eyes around too look for a certain blue Time Sphere. When he spotted none, he started walking around to read the dates engraved on them. Some of the dates were repetitive while the others were newer ones. Suddenly, he felt something bump on his back. Kuroro turned around and saw that a blue sphere made contact on his body.

Then, his eyes widened.

_December 29, XXXX_

With a hesitant hand, Kuroro reached out and touched the sphere. Almost instantly, he was transported back into that time - a time that he could never forget.

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_**December 29, XXXX**_

He saw a trembling raven-haired child, hiding inside a hollow of a tree, hands clasped together and shivering from the cold. Though he was there watching, he can't actually make contact with the child because his body does not belong in this time. Kuroro could only watch silently along with the child, replaying the nightmare that has been haunting him for many years.

The boy whispered something under his breath and a puff of smoke came with it.

"Where is the boy?" a demanding voice caused Kuroro to look at the place where the boy was also looking. There, he saw four men in dark suit, threatening a captured man. Behind them, a huge fire was crackling wildly. "Where is he?"

"I swear. My son doesn't have the mark! He doesn't have the blood of a High One!" the man pleaded loudly to his captors. "Please spare him!"

"You liar!"

Kuroro did not listen anymore. Instead, he looked back at the child, who is now covering his ears with his hands.

"Mom... mom... mom..." the boy kept on calling out softly. Kuroro couldn't believe how fragile he looked. From one of his pockets, he took out the High One coin that was given to him by Kairo back when he and Kurapika found him in the Bethel Manor. Kuroro approached Aamir, who's now left alone. The men who threatened him a while ago were now gone and the Spider head then held out his hand to drop the coin right in front of the man.

Aamir did not fail to notice the shiny thing on the ground. He reached out and grabbed the coin. When he realized what it was, he suddenly cried as he clutched the coin to his chest.

"Etana... I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry..." he cried even more. "Please forgive me... please..." he pleaded.

"_Pathetic."_ Kuroro whispered angrily to himself. If he was really present right there and then, he would have already punched his father in his face, no matter what his reason may be for selling his mother.

When Aamir managed to gather himself, he pocketed the coin and quickly ran towards that certain tree where he hid the younger Kuroro. From that, the grown up Kuroro didn't need to follow him since he already knew what will happen. He concentrated his nen once again and transported himself to where those dark-suited men went.

In the end, he was brought into a room of a certain large mansion - a mansion that he was very familiar with. Kuroro knew this place. He had been here before.

Heart racing, the man stepped inside the room and he was surprised at the sight that greeted him. The room looked more like a hospital than a normal bedroom. There were life support machines, dextrose holders, injections and bottled medicines on the bedside table. On the bed, a red-haired girl was lying while dextrose was attached to her wrist and an oxygen tube to her nose. But the dextrose bag contained a somewhat red substance instead of the usual colourless Ringer's lactate. A gray haired man is sitting on a chair beside the bed, holding the girl's other hand.

"Sir, forgive us but it seems like Aamir's son doesn't appear to have the High One mark." One of the guards said.

"Then you should have finished him and his son!" The man turned around angrily to his men, giving Kuroro full access to his face.

At this, the Spider head could do nothing but stand speechlessly as Gregory 'Greg' Myrtle's face came into the view.

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Kurapika knew about this all along. She just kept quiet because her uncle asked her to do so. It seems like the old man knew as well that Kuroro needs to do these trips in the Vacuum for a personal reason. But when she came inside Kuroro's study room only to find him missing, she knew he's using it again since she can't feel his presence anywhere in the mansion. Five minutes already passed and the man did not return yet and Kurapika is getting nervous by the minute.

How could Kuroro ignore her Uncle's warning of not using the Vacuum for more than two minutes?

A few more minutes later, Kuroro finally returned and the blonde immediately moved from where she's sitting.

"Kuroro." She called out firmly, readying herself to lecture him. "You know you shouldn't-." But she stopped mid-sentence when she noticed that the man did not move an inch from his spot. Kurapika observed him further and saw that his hands are bleeding, probably from fisting them too much in anger. What the hell did he see in the Vacuum this time?

Uncertainly, Kurapika slowly moved towards him and gingerly touched his arm. She then felt the man relax a little, but to her surprise he suddenly grabbed her own arm and locked her in a tight and demanding embrace. Kurapika can feel Kuroro's rapid heartbeat in his chest, his ragged breathing, and his painful groans. The Kuruta then knew that the side effects of the ability are taking their toll in his body. And since he used the ability for more than two minutes, it must be very painful than ever. It was a good thing that Kuroro had enough will power to prevent himself from dying.

Kurapika hugged him back and waited until he had finally relaxed. When he did, the blonde lead him to the couch, where he laid down on his back with his head on her lap. He's too weak to even explain to her why he violated the two-minute warning. She should be angry with him but seeing the situation, she can even muster the strength to do so.

About an hour later, Kuroro finally spoke to her.

"Kurapika." He called out as the blonde gently stroke his dark hair.

"Hmmm?" she lightly hummed and continued stroking.

"What will you do if I go back to the way I am in the past?" he asked, making the blonde tense up. She stopped stroking his hair and Kuroro chuckled darkly. "A thief, a liar, a ruthless killer..."

Instead of answering his question, Kurapika asked him back. "And why would you do that? What did you see in the Vacuum?"

Kuroro was silent for a moment. Kurapika waited, knowing that he needed some time. Finally he answered her question, but not as clearly as she thought he would.

"My reason to go back."

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**Author's Note:** _No episode last Sunday... Arrgghh! I was looking forward to it! Kurapika was going badass and I'm so excited! Well, at least there's on good news... the synopsis of the Hunter x Hunter movie is finally out! Kuroro will be there! Wooooo! I can die happy now! (My life basically revolves around Hunter x Hunter and writing.) haha! So I give you chapter 20. I think I'm losing my touch. :(. Please read and review!_

**Next:** _The twins' birthday and everyone is invited. Including the person whom Kuroro saw in the Vacuum. How will the Spider handle the situation? How is he going to protect his family if that person finds out a certain secret?_


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**____I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 21

Birthday

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"Uncle Leorio!"

Looking straight ahead, Leorio pushed up his usual, old dark glasses before breaking into a wide grin upon seeing a blur of yellow come right at him. He chuckled pleasantly as he kneeled down on the floor with one knee, opened his arms, and prepared himself to receive the one who called him out.

"Rin-chan!" he also called out as Karin threw herself at him. "It's my princess' birthday!"

"Mou, I'm not your princess." Karin pouted as her beloved uncle carried her.

"I bet her father will have your head if your call her your princess." Killua suddenly appeared, his hand inside his pockets as he looked at Karin, who's giggling uncontrollably. "How are you, Rin-chan?"

"Hello, Killua-oniisan." The blonde greeted. "Oh. Gon-oniisan!" she waved her hand energetically upon seeing a spiky-haired boy walking towards them.

"Wah! Hello, Rin-chan!" Gon greeted happily. "Where's your mom?"

As if on cue, Kurapika emerged out of her study room upon hearing the commotion downstairs. Behind her, Krisu followed while eating a bar of brown chocolate. When she landed her eyes on the three familiar and dear figures below, a big smile bloomed on her face and she hurried her steps to get to them as quickly as possible. Krisu also saw them and he squealed in delight. He practically ran towards their visitors to greet them as well.

"You're here! You're here!" he exclaimed happily and stopped in front of Gon.

"Of course we'd be here." Gon replied and ruffled the boy's dark hair gently, earning a delighted giggle in return.

"Hey, Kurapika. It's been a while." Killua greeted the blonde woman and she just smiled.

"I see you two have grown up..." Kurapika said first thing and saw Gon sitting down on the floor, playing another session of clapping game with Krisu. "...physically, that is." She added. True, the boys have grown a lot in the past seven years though they retained some of their 12-year old habits.

Killua can't help but smirk. "Hey, that only applies to him." He pointed at the oblivious Gon. "Anyways, I want to see Kyoumir!" he said, failing to suppress his excitement.

Kurapika smiled lightly. _'Only apply to Gon, huh?'_

"Well, if you want to see him, you can't. He's sleeping."

"Aw! Can't I just see his face?"

"I thought you came here to see us? It's our birthday!" Karin interjected, faking a frown.

Killua turned with a wide grin towards her. "Of course we came to see you two." If Krisu is fond of Gon, Karin is definitely close to Leorio and Killua.

After a few more minutes of talking, all of them finally decided to go to the living room to catch up with each other. Karin sat on Leorio's lap while Krisu continued playing some games with Gon. Kurapika would talk to Killua since he's the more mature one compared to the others. Leorio and Gon would just add to whatever Killua says.

The blonde missed her friends terribly. It has been about seven months since the last time she saw them. They visited her upon knowing that she's pregnant once again and they wanted to make sure that Kuroro is treating her well. They even made a verbal agreement that if they find something amiss in Kurapika's situation with him, they'd take her away. Apparently, though they've entrusted her to Kuroro, they themselves wanted to make sure that she's fine.

But they don't need to worry at all. The last thing Kuroro is was being difficult. She's perfectly fine with him. In fact, more than fine.

"Kurapika." A familiar voice called out behind her. Kurapika, including her friends, turned her head slightly and saw Kuroro coming downstairs, fully dressed in formal attire.

"Why are you dressed like that?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Visitors." He explained briefly, trusting Kurapika to understand.

And she did. Even though the twins' party will start during seven in the evening, lots of visitors arrived early, either eager to have an exploration of the famous Gushiken manor or have the chance to talk to Kuroro, Kairo, or Kurapika before anyone else can. Most of them came early because of the second reason. Kuroro and Kurapika did not only invite the twins' classmates but also their business partners, friends, and trusted companions so it's only natural that they'd chat with them about business and stuff that concerns money.

"Hello, Papa!" Karin greeted and Kuroro turned to look at his daughter. Nobody noticed it but he frowned very lightly upon seeing Karin being all so cosy with Leorio. He's someone who gets jealous easily, no matter how small the reason is.

Kuroro finally smiled lightly at her before turning his attention back to Kurapika's three friends. "I see you have some catching up to do with them." He simply said. "I should go, now." He whispered almost to himself and continued walking towards the garden of the manor, where the party will be held and where the early visitors are staying.

When he was finally out of earshot, Killua immediately questioned Kurapika. "Say, your husband's a little bit down in the dumps, isn't he?"

"He's just tired." She replied, ignoring the fact that Killua called Kuroro her husband_. 'And probably stressed and angry.'_

Kurapika inwardly sighed. She recalled everything that happened a few nights ago, when Kuroro have finally seen, with the help of the Space and Time Vacuum, the faces of the murderers of his mother, Etana. That was the very first time he openly heard Kuroro wanting to avenge someone. His mother must have been very precious to him; maybe even more precious and important than her. She's the one who carried Kuroro for nine months after all and cared for him truly when he was young. Their situation have been reversed. It's now Kuroro who's seeking revenge for a wrongfully murdered family member while it's now Kurapika's turn to control him and make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble. How did things turn out this way in the first place?

"Or maybe he's like a stone all the time." Leorio chuckled jokingly.

"Just because he's cold towards you doesn't mean he's always like that to everyone." Kurapika defended her husband unconsciously.

"Whoops. You shouldn't have said that, Leorio." Gon grinned while still playing with Krisu.

Killua also smirked mischievously. "Usually, when we talk about Kuroro-san, Kurapika would definitely say something like 'Oh, that man is frustrating!' or 'He's always giving me a headache so shut up and talk about something else'" the silver-haired teenager tried to mimic Kurapika's voice while doing some of her hand gestures. The twins giggled upon hearing that.

The blonde glared in return at her grinning friend. "First, I was pregnant at that time so everyone is frustrating in my eyes, including you. Second, I do not sound like that. And third, what's with the hand gestures?"

Killua just laughed heartily together with the others. With this, Kurapika also can't help but break into a small smile. They talked some more about how things were. Gon chatted about how he met his father once again while visiting some famous ancient ruins. Killua rambled about how his mother is so persistent of him inheriting their family business even though he's done being an assassin. Leorio also talked bits and pieces about opening a new branch of hospital in his hometown and also about his current girlfriend (who fortunately survived five months with him).

"Krisu, Karin, why don't you two go and change? Some of your classmates will be arriving soon." Kurapika suggested and the two agreed immediately. Krisu even tugged his sister with him and they hurried to their rooms to get dressed for their party.

When they were gone, Kurapika turned serious as she looked at her friends. "Guys, I need your help on something."

Three pairs of eyes gave her a questioning look.

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Calling the party splendid is an understatement.

With Kuroro's ideas, powered by Kairo's insistence, along with Kurapika's way of saying 'let's keep it simple', the birthday party is like the party of the century. It's very luxurious, very expensive, and very annoying to Kurapika. She tried very hard and even fought to the end just to make sure that Kuroro and her Uncle won't go overboard in the twins' seventh birthday. But apparently, they did.

Not only did they make the party huge but also invited hundreds of visitors. And Kurapika doesn't even know half of them!

All her friends are there, including Senritsu, Basho, her co-workers in the publishing company, and many more. The Spiders were also there, though they disguised themselves properly to avoid being recognized and scaring the hell out of the visitors. Neon, her boyfriend, and her father were also invited and so are some of Kairo's close friends like Mr. Avery. The twins' classmates also came, happily bringing with them their gifts for the birthday celebrants.

The party is a mix of the usual children's party and formal party so that both adults and kids can enjoy themselves. Blue and purple balloons were displayed everywhere and so are blue and purple streamers together with the twins' favourite flower, daffodils, displayed on each tables. Bright lights illuminated the spacious garden and pleasant music resonated all over the place. Upon seeing this, Kurapika can't help but recall her uncle's words.

"_It's Kuroro's first time celebrating his children's birthday. Let him have his way."_

And the blond allowed him to do what he wanted.

"Mommy!" Krisu called out excitedly when he came out of his room after almost an hour. Gon, Killua, and Leorio have already gone out to the garden to talk with some old friends.

"Krisu." The blonde whispered with a smile as she kneeled to get to her son's eye level. Krisu is wearing a black suit with light blue polo underneath and dark blue ascot tie. Reaching out, Kurapika smoothened out the boy's suit and also combed his hair with her hand.

"What do you think?" he asked, turning around to show every part of his clothes to his mother.

"You look very handsome." She responded with pride and pinched Krisu's cheek. "And very cute, too."

Krisu giggled. "Does that mean Daddy is handsome and cute as well? We look alike after all." He asked rather too innocently.

"That's two different things."

"Eh? How?"

She pressed her lips together before standing up and speaking. "Well, your Daddy... is also very handsome." Though she didn't notice it, a small smile made its way to her lips.

"Really? That's good to hear." That familiar rich baritone voice spoke behind her. Kurapika immediately recognized who it was and when she attempted to turn around and face him, a pair of strong arms snaked around her waist, pulling her close to his body.

"Kuroro, stop this. There are visitors outside." The blonde half-heartedly complained.

"Yes. They're _outside_." The man emphasized the last word.

"Mou, you two are lovey-dovey again." Krisu giggled and skipped away from them to go to the garden with the intention of greeting his friends.

"Lovey—what?" since when did Krisu learn such words?

"Papa, Mama!" another familiar voice rung and a blonde girl bounced happily downstairs, wearing a venus cut purple dress with a purple flower with ribbon attached on the belt of her dress.

Kuroro smiled upon seeing her. Unlike Kurapika, Karin actually likes wearing dresses since she thought that it's only proper for parties. She did not grow up cross-dressing as a boy like her mother did.

"Oh, Karin." Her mother called out while trying to pry away Kuroro's arms. "Your hair is undone. Let's fix that. And let go, Kuroro."

The man finally relented and stepped back to observe Kurapika and their daughter. After the blonde tied up Karin's hair in a neat ponytail, the little girl looked up to him with a smile on her face. Kuroro smiled back and he approached the girl, kneeled in front of her, and then took out what looked like a silver necklace from his pocket. Karin eyed the necklace with an amethyst pendant carefully before her father put it around her neck.

"There." He whispered gently. "Looks perfect on you."

"Thank you, Papa! I love it!" the girl exclaimed happily as she took the pendant between her fingers and bowed her head to scrutinize it properly.

"Happy birthday." Kuroro greeted and it earned him a tight and sweet hug from his daughter.

Kurapika only watched from behind them, a contented smile on her face. But then, she remembered something she told her friends about. The blonde only hoped that things would go well with her plan with her friends.

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"Kurapika..." Gon whispered sullenly to himself while eyeing his plate of enticing food. "...what's with her request? I don't get it."

Hearing this, Killua looked at his best friend and then patted his back. "I'm sure she has her reasons. But for now, let's trust her." He assured the spiky-haired boy.

"But seriously..." Leorio interjected. "What did she mean by 'stop Kuroro at all costs if he does anything out of his character'? I mean, we don't even know what kind of person that Spider head is."

"I think he won't be stupid enough to ruin his kids' birthday party, right?" Gon asked once again and only received a pair of shrugs as a reply.

The object of the conversation suddenly emerged out of the manor with Kurapika and Karin. The three friends observed him from afar, doing what Kurapika asked them to do. So far, the man had been normal, and by normal, they meant that he's simply talking with the guests while Kurapika talks with some of them, too. Kuroro was carrying Karin between his arms and the little girl looked very much pleased as the visitors greeted her, gave her gifts, and complimented her looks, which she got from her mother. Krisu, on the other hand, is busy running around with his classmates, eating sweets off the table, and secretly opening the gifts given to him.

More visitors came and as Gon observed Kuroro silently (Killua and Leorio have already dug themselves into their mouth-watering food), he noticed a slight change in him. With his trained eyes, Gon could clearly see how the intensity in Kuroro's usual cold eyes had risen.

That's when Gon readied himself for the worst.

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"Ah! Kuroro-kun!" Alicia had exclaimed happily upon landing her eyes on the attractive figure that was carrying a small blonde girl. She bounced happily to his direction, wearing a dress that revealed most of her silky flesh, clearly for the purpose of seducing a certain someone. The redhead was about to give the cold man a peck on one of his cheeks when she felt something smack right on her face, stopping her from doing what she intended to do.

It turns out that it Karin's palm that was on her face.

"No." The little blonde whispered coldly, making Kuroro chuckle.

Alicia's face turned beet red with embarrassment and stepped back a little for the space she needed. She, too, chuckled as if she wasn't ashamed at all.

"What a cute girl." The redhead smiled charmingly. "Is she your daughter, Kuroro-kun?"

"That's obvious, don't you think?" Karin replied instead, cold and harsh.

"Aww... she's just like her mother!"

"If you only noticed it now, then there must be something wrong with you." The little blonde once again spoke sarcastically and Alicia looked very much terrified at how a girl of seven years could speak that way to her.

"Karin, don't do that. She's your Aunt Alicia." Kuroro tried to reprimand her daughter, but deep inside, he's highly amused at how she handled someone like Alicia. He'd do the same if only he's of Karin's age.

"So cute, Rin-chan." Alicia let out a fake giggle, clearly trying to suppress her unreasonable annoyance towards the 'innocent' girl.

"That's _Karin_-chan to you."

Finally, Karin wriggled out of Kuroro's hold, saying that she wants to play with her friends. Her father put her down as she wished and ran towards where Krisu is, but not before shooting Alicia a warning look as if saying 'do something to my Papa and you'll regret it'. It seems like she inherited Kuroro's possessiveness as well.

"That daughter of yours sure is a bit like Kurapika." Alicia commented irritatingly. "Now, I have you all for myself..." she then purred, much to Kuroro's dislike.

"Your father is not here, is he?" he asked, voice suddenly detached.

"Nah. Dad's too old to come. But he's sending his regards though."

"Too old? How old is your father exactly, Alicia?"

The redhead looked at him, confused. "Oh, about a hundred years old, give and take a few years."

Kuroro smirked inwardly, amused at Alicia's slip of tongue though she did not notice it herself. "A hundred years? But he seems very energetic the last time we had dinner together."

"He's very wary of his health."

"How about you, Alicia? How old are you?"

Alicia suddenly tensed a little, an action that Kuroro did not miss. "You know, it's embarrassing for women to openly speak about their age."

"What is there to be ashamed about?"

Alicia couldn't answer and Kuroro was satisfied with just that. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he smiled and dismissed their conversation, excusing himself to go to Kurapika and the kids. When he arrived to where they are, the first thing he did is to put one arm around his woman's waist, surprising the hell out of her.

"Kuroro!" Kurapika exclaimed and the guests she was talking to only tried to suppress their smiles.

"You'll have to excuse my wife. We have some private things to attend to." Kuroro said to the visitors and they let him go his way.

Kuroro lead the blonde towards their table, where no one else is sitting and is exclusively for them. The two sat down quietly. Kairo was already on stage, formally greeting the guests that arrived with his welcome speech. However, they couple were not listening as they were discussing something else.

"What did you find?" Kurapika asked while trying to glue her eyes at her Uncle's figure.

"They've preserved some of my mother's blood for future use. I want to get it back." The man stated as calmly as possible.

"How did you arrive with that?" the blonde asked sceptically again.

Kuroro sighed and started explaining. "If you've met Alicia's father, you'd actually think that he's the same age as Kairo. He's as strong and as witty as your Uncle." He paused and also looked at the ever smiling Kairo, who strangely reminded him of Kyoumir. Their youngest child is currently sleeping peacefully while being taken-cared of his babysitter. "And I saw a young Alicia in the Vacuum. She was the sick daughter who desperately needed my mother's blood. Did you know that few drops are enough to heal a person in his deathbed?" he asked but the Kuruta stayed silent. "Though I still have to confirm it with Shal's help, I'm very sure they preserved some of my mother's blood. I want to get it back no matter what."

Kurapika stared at him for a long time before nodding slightly. "I understand."

"Thank you."

"...that's why me and my friends decided to help."

Kuroro couldn't believe what he heard. He looked back at the Kuruta before finally recovering his composure. "It'd be dangerous."

"I'm a Hunter. I know that word and I've experienced it myself." She replied sternly.

"She's right, ya know." A naughty voice suddenly echoed and the couple looked at the chairs behind them to see who they were. They found three of Kurapika's friends sitting at the back, grinning widely at them. At this, the Spider head couldn't help but sigh openly.

"But don't get us wrong. We're not doing this for you but for Kurapika." Gon interjected quickly before anything else was said.

"I haven't even approved whether I'll let you three help or not." Kuroro replied coldly, feeling slightly amused for some odd reason. He looked at Kurapika. "Did you tell them?"

"Not everything." She replied, a little guilty at not informing him of her plan of involving her friends.

The man was silent for a few moments, but the silence was broken by Gon. "Like I said, we're doing this for Kurapika. It's our way of... thanking you for taking good care of her and for giving back the scarlet eyes to her."

"Gon..." Kurapika can't help but whisper his name upon hearing what he said. Gon smiled at her in response.

Seeing this, Kuroro can't help but be amazed at the deep friendship that Kurapika shared with her three friends. He doesn't have that kind of relationship with anyone. His Spiders are his friends but they're more like his loyal subjects than best friends. The man even thought that maybe he'll never get to experience such relationship with anyone.

Finally, he came to a decision. "Fine. Do whatever you three want."

Kurapika looked at her friends upon receiving Kuroro's approval. They smiled at her and Killua even gave her a knowing wink. She smiled back, silently thanking them.

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"Krisu! Over here!" one of Krisu's classmates called out while waving at him. Seeing this, the boy ran quickly towards where his friend is. "More gifts for you! Open it! I wanna see what's inside."

"Hai, hai!" Krisu had every intention of opening it, though he doesn't want anyone to see.

He tore the wrapper as quickly as he can before anyone catches him. Inside he saw a painting set and was very glad that he squealed in delight. The boy always loved painting so it's no wonder if he found the gift exciting. He was about to get it out of the ruined box when he heard a chuckle behind him.

"I see that Krisu –chan is being naughty. Opening gifts even when it's not yet time."

Krisu looked up nervously and found a smiling redhead in front of him, holding a wine of glass and a wrapped gift box on the other. This is the first time he had seen her but he's more focused on the thought that the woman will rat him out.

"Very naughty indeed." She said before meeting his eye level by bending down.

"Ano, you're not gonna tell Mommy and Daddy, right?" he asked nervously. His classmate already escaped, leaving him alone to deal with the situation. _Traitor... _he thought annoyingly.

"Hmmm? Should I or should I not?" the woman teased.

"It's my birthday." The boy reminded, making the redhead chuckle.

"Of course I won't. In fact, I want you to open my gift to you as well."

"Really?" the boy cannot mask his excitement when she handed the gift box to him. "Thank you so much... ummm?"

"I'm your Aunt Alicia. Your father is a very good friend of mine." She said with a smile. _He really looks like Kuroro-kun..._

"Nice meeting you, Aunt Alicia." Krisu held out his left hand to shake her hand. He's left-handed, just like his father.

Alicia smiled as she noted how cute Krisu. She was about to take his hand for the handshake when she noticed a familiar mark of his palm. It was not really clear but she could make out that it was some kind of cross. And it really looked very familiar, like she has seen that mark before.

Her eyes widened when realization finally took over. That mark...

...is the mark that saved her.

_**Flashback**_

"_Dad, what is that?" a young Alicia pointed at the oddly shaped cross picture that was framed and hanged inside her room._

"_That..." Gregory Myrtle looked at where his daughter is pointing before smiling down at her. "That is what saved you, Alicia."_

"_Saved me?"_

"_You'll understand someday."_

_**End of Flashback**_

And Alicia did understand. It was a High One's mark.

How come Krisu has is?

"Is something wrong, Aunt Alicia?" Krisu frowned upon noticing that the redhead did not take his hand.

"Ah, nothing, Krisu-chan."_ S_he assured her and finally shook Krisu's waiting hand. "I have to go now."

Without sparing another glance at the confused boy, Alicia quickly took out her phone and dialled her father's number to inform him of something. She made a great mistake when she realized her slipped of tongue while talking to Kuroro.

_That's why he asked about my Dad's age..._

_And I was stupid enough to slip!_

_Damn! _

Her call was finally answered and while she talked to the person in the other line, Alicia failed to notice a pair of dark orbs looking at her back with great intensity.

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**Author's Note**_**:**__ Yes! I finally finished Chapter 21! Hope you guys like it. Did you guys watch the trailer for the Hunter x Hunter 2013 movie? It was awesome! And the Kurapika vs Uvogin 2011 version fight? Kurapika is really a badass! I love him! Woooo! As for Kuroro... I hope I get to see more action with him in it... It'd be awesome! Please read and review! And there will be a lot of action in the next few chapters.___

**Next**_**:**__ Kuroro with his Spiders and Kurapika with her friends team up to retrieve Etana's preserved blood. But it was not as easy as it looks. Failed plans, danger, powerful nen users... they have to face all of those in order to get what rightfully belongs to Kuroro. _


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

**Warning**_**:**__I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

**Story:**_ They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 22

Meticulous Planning and Dreams of Death

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"Daddy! Daddy! Look!"

Kuroro lowered the book he's reading by a fraction of an inch to look up and see what his son is up to again. It was a peaceful and fair morning and it has been five days since the twins' birthday party. The raven-haired man is currently enjoying a time of peace in the master's bedroom with a good book when Krisu suddenly burst inside, carrying with him a large and heavy-looking, blue baby album. The boy ran as fast as he could and quickly climbed the bed to reach his father.

"What is it?" Kuroro asked, finally closing his book and putting it away to pay attention to his son.

"Pictures of me and Karin when we were babies!" he squealed in delight and Kuroro can't help but chuckle. Krisu immediately opened the album and settled himself beside his father.

"Let's see them."

"Here!" Krisu pointed at a particular picture. "Mommy said that we were four months old in this." he explained happily.

Kuroro stared at the photograph. It was a picture of Karin sleeping and Krisu gnawing on his feeding bottle. He smiled lightly. "Well, you look adorable." he commented, making Krisu giggle.

The two continued flipping the pages of the album, occasionally talking about the stories behind the pictures. Kurapika also had pictures in the album too, mostly carrying the twins or playing with them. There's also one where she's sleeping while the twins, about five months old, were giving her a 'hairdo'. When they got to the last page, there was only one picture and it was newly added by a certain blonde Kuruta. It was a recent photo of Kurapika, Kuroro, Kairo, and the twins, taken during the birthday party five days ago. Kuroro ran his fingers through the picture. This is his family and he will do everything to protect them.

"Daddy?" Krisu looked up to his father and Kuroro turned his attention towards the boy.

"Yes?"

"That cross on your forehead." he pointed at the cross tattoo.

"What about it?"

"Well, I think I have one, too." Krisu then held up his left palm and Kuroro stared at it. The cross tattoo is nearly complete.

Sighing, the man put the album aside and whispered something to his son. "Go get Karin. There's something I need to teach the two of you."

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"It was tough, but I managed to get the blue prints of all the mansions." Shalnark said as he spread several sheets of wide blue prints on a table inside Kurapika's study room. "I'm still having some trouble in hacking the security system. Once someone tries to hack the system, the override switch triggers and sends alerts messages to every control room of the mansions."

He, some of the Spiders, Kurapika, Gon, Killua, and Leorio are currently having a meeting about the retrieval mission of Etana's preserved blood. Kuroro was not present due to the fact that Kurapika insisted in him getting some rest since he had been up almost in the past few nights, helping in the planning of the mission.

Before their team can take any course of action, they must first gather information, lots of information if they want to succeed. The task was entrusted to Killua and Shalnark. The two had been working together in the past five days, restlessly doing their respective assignments.

Killua is more of an expert in data gathering so he was assigned to gather information about the Myrtle family. His research was fruitful since he found out that Greg Myrtle was once a mafia boss and he is a big shot in the Mafia community. There were several records in York Shin City that shows that he had been attending many auctions there and many of his illegal businesses were in that city as well. Some time later, after the birth of his daughter, Alicia, he stopped with his illegal ways and focused in developing Myrtle Industries, Bethel Corporation's top competitor. But although he had abandoned his illegal ways, it doesn't mean that he has cut off all his connections with the underground community.

On the other hand, Shalnark's area of expertise is related to technology, so he was assigned, as always, to find ways on how to infiltrate all the mansions without getting caught. Of course, Shalnark had to resort to drastic measures such as using his Dark Voice ability, which Kurapika was not so happy about. Usually, the prodigy would be able to hack a computer within seconds, but surprisingly, he managed to get the mansion blue prints within five days. It was a surprise, even to his Spider comrades. It only proves that they'll be going against a powerful family.

"Is it that meticulous?" Killua asked the sandy-blond guy and he nodded in response.

"I've never encountered something like it. It may be easier if we have the password in disabling the override switch, but we don't."

Killua looked down on the blue prints. "Which mansion has the tightest security?" he asked.

Shalnark quickly flipped the sheets, looking for a certain blue print of a mansion. He then pulled out one sheet and placed it on top of the others. "This one. I believe it's called Fratelson Mansion.

Gon, who had been listening the whole time along with Kurapika, spoke up. "Does this mean the item is inside the Fratelson Mansion?" he asked

"Most likely." Shalnark replied. "I mean, why would they bother tightening the security in this particular mansion? It's two times heavier compared to the rest."

"What kind of security system do they have?" Kurapika asked this time.

"Well, they have cameras, alarms, finger print and eye detectors... a lot." the Spider replied. "But surely, we can find something in the control room that may disable first the override switch."

"I'll leave you to that." Kurapika said and patted Shalnark's back. "Now, after disabling the security, we still have to find out in what room our target item is in."

"For all we know, it might be in an underground room." Gon mused, making Killua stare at him.

Kurapika was silent for a while, the gears inside her head working and contemplating. There are some things that shouldn't be overlooked in this plan. Quickly, she shuffled the blue prints and found the mansion where Alicia and her father are currently residing.

"If ever an emergency arises and they needed the blood quickly, they would have to travel far away to get to the Fratelson Mansion." Kurapika muttered as Shal, Gon, and Killua are listening to her. "Wouldn't it be more practical for them to store the blood in a place they could easily reach?"

That got the three thinking. Killua nodded and looked at Kurapika. "What are you suggesting?"

"They will be storing the blood near them." The blonde replied, shuffling through several blue prints before pulling out a certain one. "And the most likely candidate is the mansion where they are currently living." She continued, pointing at the blue print she just put on top of the others.

Shalnark scratched his chin. "It makes sense." He nodded lightly. "I mean, they might be using Fratelson mansion to trick other people and lure them away to secure their treasure."

"We need someone else's opinion on this." Gon muttered, making the four of them silent for a moment.

Just then, the double doors of the room creaked open and Kuroro Lucifer's figure entered. He looked around, noting the fact that some of his Spiders are not actively contributing to whatever Shalnark, Kurapika, Gon, and Killua are talking about. Nobunaga, Phinx, and Feitan are silently playing cards while Leorio and Machi are watching silently.

"Good timing, Danchou." Shalnark quickly exclaimed and Kuroro tore his gaze to look at his Spider. "We need you opinion on this one."

Kuroro quickly strode towards where the four plan makers are, standing right beside Kurapika and looking down at the blue prints. "Which one?" he asked. Kurapika took the liberty of explaining their suspicions and Kuroro is clearly convinced about what Kurapika had come up with. This time, Machi had joined in, asking what her instincts were telling her.

The blunette furrowed her eyebrows. "It's just a hunch but I feel that this mansion has the target item." She pointed at the blue print of the Myrtle mansion. "And I'm feeling that we will not only see the target item but something else... or rather someone else."

"Someone else?" Gon asked and the woman nodded.

"It's settled then." Kuroro finally closed the matter. "From now on, we will set our eyes on Myrtle mansion." He turned towards his Spider. "Shal, study the blue prints and the security system. Find any holes that will allow us to infiltrate the mansion." Shalnark nodded eagerly. "Feitan and Killua, you two will team up and gather information from anyone associated with the mansion. Household keepers and security guards will be convenient." He ordered, and the two guys also nodded. "Gon, Machi, and Nobunaga, you two will keep an eye on the hallways for any guards. The rest will stand as look outs outside the mansion."

"What about us?" Kurapika asked.

"A few days ago, I received an invitation from Greg Myrtle for a dinner party tomorrow evening." Kuroro said, looking at Kurapika. "That's when we will execute the mission."

"Can't you be more detailed?"

Sighing, Kuroro shoved his hands inside his pockets in a casual manner, something the Kurapika hasn't seen for a while since the man had been tense in the past few days.

"We'll go to the dinner party, of course. And remember this?" he asked, pulling from his pocket two identical pearl necklaces, one black and the other white. Those were the necklaces that Karin and Krisu used to mask their presence when they followed them towards NGL. "We'll be using these necklaces."

"How do they work?" she asked as she received the black pearl necklace from him. Kuroro explained briefly, trusting that Kurapika will understand since her intellect is superior as compared to others. And of course, she understood quickly.

"Though these necklaces will render us completely invisible, we cannot use our Hatsu while using them at the same time." Kuroro added. It was a discovery of his while studying the effects of the necklaces.

"I see." Kurapika then wore the necklace around her wrist instead of her neck, looping it over and over again until if fit her lithe wrist.

"The whole plan will be simple but difficult to execute." Kuroro said and this time, all the occupants of the room turned their attention to the man. "We must first secure all the hallways." He looked at the Myrtle mansion blue print and pointed at several hallways on the print once all of them had gathered around him. "Here, here, and here. They are critical passageway and must be secured no matter what. The dining area is here and based on the past dinner parties I've attended, it will start at eight."

"Since you've been in the mansion before, in what part would they likely hide the target item?" Killua asked but did not take his eyes off the blue print.

"Myrtle mansion is relatively old and stands for almost a decade now. This blue print is not sufficient."

"You're right." Gon agreed and nodded lightly. "I've been with Ging in many of his archaeology trips and we often encounter old and abandoned mansions. Some of them have lots of hidden doors and rooms."

"The possibility that Myrtle mansion also have those hidden rooms is high." Kurapika pointed at different rooms on the blueprint. "The library, master's bedroom, the study room, and the kitchen are possible rooms that may have hidden doors. My Dowsing chain can detect them if I use it." She said.

Kuroro finally made up the whole plan inside his head. "Alright, listen everyone. The next step after securing the hallways would be making a distraction. Machi and Nobu, you two will rob the mansion of anything with high value. I suggest the portrait of Greg's late wife. It's displayed in the dining hall. When the distraction occurs, Greg will have to secure the lives of his important visitors. That's when we will use the necklaces." The man looked at Kurapika and the blonde smiled with determination as she nodded lightly. "Then, Shalnark, you have to gain control of the security system's control room and watch the whole scene in the dining hall. Once we have used the necklace, cut off all power of the mansion. It will allow us plenty of time to search the whole place."

When everything had sunk in their heads, Kuroro finally dismissed them to prepare themselves for the mission. It was a very meticulous planning and no mistake should be made. Kuroro had never felt more determined than before. He will do anything to get his mother's blood back even if it means he will have to suffer the consequences.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"A High One." Krisu muttered to himself as he looked at the cross on his left palm. A few hours ago, his father had finally taught him what the symbol on his palm means with Karin. To be able to know that he's a part of a very powerful breed of human being is quiet a shock for him. Of course, he's quite aware that he's also a half-breed Kuruta and that's why he's always careful about being emotional in front of other people to prevent himself from triggering his eyes during inconvenient times.

"Krisu?" Karin called out and the boy's head snapped up to look at his sister.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Lately, I've been dreaming about certain things…" the girl trailed off, not sure whether she should continue. They currently inside Karin's room, which was neater compared to Krisu's zoo-like bedroom.

"About what?" the boy asked again.

"Well, I don't know how to describe these dreams but… they're getting scary."

Krisu blinked once then twice. Hearing his sister talk about getting scared is really rare.

"Come one, tell me. I might be able to help." He assured her.

Karin sighed and sat back on the couch they're sitting on. "At first I dreamed of dead animals."

"Dead animals? That's cruel!"

The blonde glared at her brother. "Will you let me continue or not?"

"Sorry, sorry. Go on."

She took a deep breath and continued. "Just images of dead animals at first. I thought they were just normal dreams so I didn't say anything. But then, about a few days before our birthday, dreams of how those animals died replaced them. The next thing I knew, I dreamt of people dying."

Krisu looked very much shaken by this. "Should we tell Mommy and Daddy? I'm sure their meeting has ended by now and they might have some explanation of your dreams."

"I don't know." Karin pouted sadly. "But last night, I dreamt again of someone dying." She paused. "It was Mama."

Krisu suddenly choked on something invisible, if that's even possible. Karin only rolled her eyes and waited for her brother to regain composure of himself.

"MOMMY?!" the boy then yelled. "We should really tell them!" he quickly grabbed Karin's hand and ran out of her room to head towards the master's bedroom where their parents are.

When they arrived, they found their father reading a book while their mother dressed up Kyoumir on the bed. Kuroro looked up from the book saw his kids smiling at him.

"Krisu, Karin." Kurapika called out. "Is there something you need?" she asked.

"Kyou-chan!" Krisu quickly jumped on the bed, immediately forgetting the real reason why they came in the room in the first place. Karin could only face palm herself with her brother's childishness.

"Karin?" Kuroro called out and the girl immediately went to her father's side.

"Papa, I want to tell you something." She said seriously.

"What is it?"

Karin then explained to him the dreams she's been having, but did not mention her dream of seeing her mother dying. Kuroro furrowed his eyebrows every now and then, listening intently to his daughter's every word and silently analysing it. As far as he's concerned these kinds of repetitive dreams shouldn't be taken lightly. They might mean something.

"Two days ago, I also dreamed that Krisu's pet hamster is dead. It was sort of scary." Because Karin inherited his personality, she was stoic as she told him her story.

"Dreams of death." Kuroro muttered. "They can't be good."

Kurapika is also listening to the conversation and was quite worried. Every mother would feel the same way. Suddenly, Kurapika felt Krisu, who seemed to be finished playing with Kyoumir, tugging her sleeve and she looked at him, only to be greeted by a pair of soulful, obsidian eyes.

"What is it?"

"Mommy, can you buy me a hamster?" he asked, making Kurapika sigh.

"No."

"But—"

"No buts, Krisu."

The boy pouted and decided to make another approach. This time, he went to his father, who's still talking with Karin.

"Daddy?" he called out and Kuroro tore his gaze away from Karin to entertain his son.

"Yes?"

"Can you buy me a hamster?"

Kuroro furrowed his eyebrows. "You already have one, don't you?"

"Yeah. But for some reason, it suddenly died two days ago. I buried it in the forest." Krisu sadly pouted as he remembered that time. Unknown to him, Karin froze.

"It…it died? Two days ago?" she asked, voice almost quivering and stoic mask almost breaking.

"Yeah. I was so sad. My guinea pig lost a great friend." The boy pouted even more.

Karin looked at her father. "Papa, I dreamed about it." She whispered to him.

Kuroro didn't like what's happening. "It's just a dream, Karin. Must be a coincidence."

"But I dreamt of Mama as well! That must mean something, right?" Karin nearly shouted, eyes shaking despite her stoic demeanour. Kuroro and Kurapika were both taken aback by that sudden outburst. "I dreamt that she's on the floor, bleeding with a large wound on her abdomen. It was scary and almost real. I can't get it off my head." This time, the little girl cried, eyes turning scarlet, and Kuroro quickly hushed the girl by patting her back, just like what any father would do.

Kurapika stood up from the bed and approached Karin. Upon seeing her mother, the girl quickly disentangled herself from her father and hugged Kurapika instead. She embraced her as if she would disappear once she lets go.

"Mama, I don't want to sleep anymore. I'm scared." Karin whispered as she buried her tear-stricken face on Kurapika's clothes. "Please don't go."

Krisu scooted to where his sister is and also patted her back to calm her down. Kurapika and Kuroro eyed each other and unanimously agreed that whatever Karin is experiencing, the High One blood has something to do with it.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was late at night and after making sure that Karin had fallen asleep, Kurapika kissed her forehead and left the room to head towards her own. She was not surprised to find Kuroro waiting for her outside. Together, they headed to their room to get their deserved rest and prepare themselves for the mission tomorrow.

"Is she okay?" Kuroro asked and the blond can't help but smile.

"Yeah. She fell asleep fast." She replied.

"About the mission tomorrow."

"What about it?"

"I think you should sit out on this one."

Kurapika shook her head. "No. I thought we already talked about this."

Kuroro sighed in return. "I know it seems ridiculous but Karin's dreams—"

"Nothing's going to happen to me." Kurapika interrupted, clearly irritated. "Seriously, I'm a Blacklist Hunter and Information Hunter. What could possibly happen to me, Kuroro?"

Kuroro stayed silent and they finally arrived inside their room. Kurapika showered first and then he followed. After doing so, Kuroro dressed himself and dropped himself on the bed. He eyed the baby basket near Kurapika's side of the bed and frowned a little. Kurapika finally finished drying her hair and is now slipping underneath the comforter.

"If you're still worried about me, don't be. I can perfectly protect myself, Kuroro. I'm not weak." The Kuruta said with a low voice, but still clearly offended with what Kuroro told her earlier.

"It's not that I don't trust your abilities." The man tried to explain.

"Then what?"

"I just don't want to lose you."

Kurapika's neck quickly heated up and her face was a little red. Kuroro's honest confession always has those effects towards her. Thank goodness for the dim lighting or the man will continue to teae her like the old times.

"You won't." she finally replied and then felt Kuroro's arms wrapping around her. Kurapika rolled to her side so that she's facing Kuroro.

"If something happens tomorrow, don't hesitate to escape, even if it means leaving me behind, do you understand?" he said firmly. "The kids need you. Especially Kyoumir."

"Nothing's going to happen." Kurapika convinced him, snuggling closer towards his chest to feel his warmth. A few minutes later, she finally fell asleep.

Kuroro looked down on her angelic face, illuminated by the moonlight. He sighed and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. He would never let anyone hurt her no matter what.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**Auhtor's Note: **Yep! This story is still alive. I present to you Chapter 22! Thank you for being patient all this time. I'm very sad to say that this fic will be nearly ending, though I won't announce yet how many chapters are left before the epilogue. Please enjoy!

**Next:** They execute the plan. But something surprises the couple, leading them to a very difficult decision. Kuroro unleashes his inner demon as a High One when a threat to Kurapika's life appears.

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	23. Chapter 23

******Disclaimer:** ___I do not own Hunter X Hunter! If I do, I'd make Kuroro and Kurapika a real couple!_

******Warning**_****__**:**____I turned Kurapika into a girl here because I don't want my parents catching me writing yaoi. Sorry! Don't Kill ME! And expect wrong spellings and grammars since I did not properly edit this! Thanks!_

******Story:**___They were forced to start from the very beginning. How will the events from the past seven years affect their feelings for each other? What are they going to do to make everything go back to the way it was? KuroXKura. FemKura. Non-Yaoi. Forced Trials Sequel._

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Chapter 23

27 Years of Lies

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It was a holiday so Krisu and Karin both don't have classes. Of course, the two were immensely pleased with it, especially Krisu. Karin, however, though in her usual stoic self, looked like she's carrying something heavy behind her back. For a little girl her age to look like that is something that would make anyone worry. She must have been greatly bothered by her dreams of deaths again. The girl was convinced that her dreams would come true, but she did not voice out her thoughts to her parents.

Kuroro already insisted on her that they're just dreams and it was merely a coincidence that she dreamed of Krisu's hamster's death. Deep inside, she was not convinced and since she dreamt of her mother lying on the floor and soaked in blood, Karin was even more afraid to sleep. She feared of seeing that image again. That terrible, almost horrifyingly true image of Kurapika's body lying still on the ground and bathing in her crimson blood. Blood just as red and her eyes.

Karin bit her lower lip hard until she felt it sting. She winced and then brought her finger to her lips, only to find a red liquid when she pulled it back. It was her blood.

"Karin?" a sudden voice caused the little blonde to tense up. She quickly wiped the blood off her finger and lips.

"Mama?" she called out as well, not bothering to look at her mother, who's entering her room.

"Are you okay?" Kurapika had a smile on her face, but her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, showing how much she's worrying for her only daughter.

The woman approached the girl, who's sitting by the edge of the bed, hugging what looked like the purple teddy bear that Kuroro bought for her. Kurapika sat beside her, pulling the girl closer when she tried to snuggle to her side. Karin then felt her mother's hand sliding up and down her back, soothing her tense nerves.

"Where are you going?" Karin asked, noticing that her mother is wearing a green floral dress, the sort of clothing she knew she wouldn't want to wear on a simple night.

Kurpika looked down on herself before giving her a reply. "Ah, this? Your Papa and I were invited to a dinner party by a friend. It would be rude to not accept it."

Karin hugged her mother tighter around her waist, causing Kurapika to smile.

"I wish you wouldn't leave." the child whispered. "Please don't go." she even begged.

"Karin." Kurapika whispered back, holding in a sigh. "I have to. I promise that we'll come back right away, okay?"

Though it did not convince Karin at all, the girl knew she can't change her parents' decision. She nodded slightly to show that she understood.

"Well the, it's time for us to go." Kurapika stopped rubbing her girl's back and stood up. "Krisu's downstairs for dinner. If you feel hungry just come down, okay?" Karin nodded silently again.

For one last contact, Kurapika bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her daughter's forehead.

"Smile for me, hm?"

Karin's eyes turned scarlet for some reason. Seeing her mother's gentle smile made her lips curve to mimic that gentleness.

The gentleness that she may lost forever.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Everything is set. All that's left is to execute the plan.

The Spiders, Gon, Killua, and Leorio are all ready and in position. The have done the necessary preparations for the mission. Kuroro and Kurapika are both heading towards the Myrtle Manor now, riding in Kuroro's car. The man had reverted back to his usual self, stoic and calculating. Kurapika was relieved to know that, and she trusts that he will act accordingly when he faces Greg Myrtle, the man he accuses as his mother's murderer.

It was only a twenty-minute ride, but Kuroro felt that it was the longest 20 minutes in his whole life. They arrived at the Myrtle Manor, with maids greeting them and the valet taking care of his car. They both steeped down the car and climbed the marble stairs leading ot the mansion's main entrance. Kuroro looked at Kurapika and smiled lightly. Feeling his stare, Kurapika looked back, only to notice that he had offered his left arm for her to cling on.

He grinned. "You wouldn't want Alicia to grab it first now, would you?"

Kurapika flushed lightly and took the offered arm, clinging to it tightly as if her life depended on it. Together, the two stepped inside the mansion. The maids welcomed them and lead them towards the dining hall, where Greg Myrtle and his daughter, Alicia Myrtle, are waiting.

Kurapika took her chance to observe the surroundings with her eyes. This Greg Myrtle must be a very big family man. There are practically pictures of Alicia and a green-eyed redhead, probably her mother, hanging in every wall. As they neared the dining hall, Kurapika clutched the black pearl necklace around her wrist, trusting that this item will bring them the success they need for Kuroro's sake.

They finally entered the dining hall, only to be greeted by the overexcited Alicia, who immediately jumped from her seat like a child and approached Kuroro in a sensual way that would make Kurapika think of the most gruesome way to dispose of her.

"Oh my, Kuroro!" Alicia greeted happily stopping in front of a smiling Kuroro. "How nice to see you! How are you?" she leaned forward and planted a greeting kiss on his cheek.

"Fine, Alicia." Kuroro replied, still smiling. "I believe I haven't introduced you two properly. This is Kurapika, my lovely wife."

Alicia looked at Kurapika, who was frowning slightly. "Well, nice to meet you again, Kurapika. We haven't really started on the right foot so let's start anew as friends, hm?" she then held out her hand for a friendly shake.

Kurapika looked reluctant and the offer of friendship, but she took her hand nonetheless. "Yeah."

"No worries. I desired your husband and I still do. But it seems like I have no chance since he's head over heels for you." Alicia then chuckled and her last sentence made Kurapika flush heavily.

"Alicia." a hoarse voice suddenly spoke up, and right at that moment, Kurapika felt Kuroro tense a little. But just as quickly as he tensed, he relaxed and started walking towards their seats.

"Good evening, Mr. Myrtle." The Spider Head greeted him the way he would greet anyone. "Thank you for this invitation."

"Mr. Lucifer." the said Greg Myrtle stood up from his seat and approached the two visitors, shaking Kuroro's hand when he stopped in front of him. Kurapika swore she saw Kuroro's hand tighten at that moment. "It's been a while since we last met. I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend your children's birthday party."

"It's alright, sir. I would like you to meet my wife, Kurapika, Kairo Bethel's niece."

The blond smiled at the man who looked like he was the same age as her Uncle Kairo. Aquamarine eyes met dark blue ones and Kurapika can't help but feel that there's something deeper hidden behind those eyes. Gregory Myrtle is a plain-looking man, with brunet hair and a little beard underneath his chin. He's smiling warmly at Kurapika as he took her free hand and shook it lightly.

"My, I have never imagined that Kairo's niece would be this beautiful." Greg said. "Well then, let's take our seats, shall we?"

Kuroro and Kurapika sat side by side and in front of them is Alicia and her father. The dinner started with the appetizer, and both Greg and Kuroro engaged in some business-related talks. Sometimes, Greg would ask for Kurapika's opinion about things, seeing that she's the real heir to the Bethel Corporations. But when she's not joining the conversation, the blonde had no idea how to talk to the redhead in front of her. Alicia must be feeling the same since she hasn't even spared Kurapika a glance and is just looking at Kuroro with her dreamy eyes, imagining only heaven knows what.

"I heard that you're planning to expand your business to hospital management." Greg mentioned.

"I am. Since we're already starting in the pharmacy field, we might as well enter hospital management." Kuroro replied in his business voice, smiling lightly. Kurapika knew that behind that smile, Kuroro is boiling, itching to just strangle the man in front of him.

"I see. I bet you're going to conquer that field as well. I do hope you do not enter car manufacturing." Greg chuckled.

"That's your area, Mr. Myrtle. I wouldn't want to go against you when I know I have no chance."

Their talk continued with topics regarding new plans and joint projects that both companies should do. Kurapika glanced at Kuroro's wrist watch. It's 43 minutes past nine already. Just a few more minutes and everything will be ready. Kuroro is trying his best to drag the conversation and keep the two interested in everything he says. He's succeeding so far.

Kurapika felt like the time is slowing down the more she anticipates.

And suddenly, the plan has finally started.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The windows on their left shattered, and two figures jumped inside the dining hall. Greg Myrtle acted just like the way they expected, standing up in shock along with his daughter. The guards came rushing in when they heard the commotion, and most of them that are armed targeted the two trespassers. The other guards secured the safety of the diners, pulling them to a safe place a surrounding the area.

Kuroro hid a smirk. Just according to his plan. Machi and Nobunaga are the two trespassers and without any delay, the two quickly grabbed the portrait of the late Mrs. Myrtle, surprising Greg and his daughter. Angered, Greg quickly ordered to pursue the two thieves, but before the guards can even do so, there was a sudden black out.

"What the hell is going on?!" Greg's voice erupted from the total darkness while Alicia's screaming voice echoed all throughout the hall.

When the black out occurred, both Kurapika and Kuroro used _Ten_ and the pearl necklaces they're wearing rendered them invisible. While the commotion in the dining hall was going on, the couple slipped out from the guards' protective circle and quickly headed towards the possible rooms where they may have kept their target item. Shalnark informed them that he can keep the black out for fifteen minutes, which is already enough for the two. After the fifteen minutes, there's a 75% chance that the mansion's main engineers will come and check the control room to fix the problem.

The darkness did not bother the two and neither do the cameras since Shalnark is the one monitoring and controlling them. Although wearing a dress, Kurapika was still able to move fast because of her flat shoes. She stopped using _Ten_ and summoned her chains as quickly as possible, letting her nen flow through it. Her eyes glowed bright scarlet and the blonde manipulated her Dowsing chain to react strongly when they pass through a place where the target item could possibly be held.

The whole mansion has a total of 45 rooms and three floors. Among those 45 rooms, they managed to reduce it down to three potential rooms; the master's bedroom, the kitchen, and the library. The minor rooms that they should pay attention to as well are the storage room and Alicia's room. To change from floor to floor, Kuroro will be using the teleportation skill.

Before the fifteen minutes end, they must finish examining those five rooms. They will have to allocate exactly three minutes per room.

Both Kurapika and Kuroro already passed through the kitchen, but the chain did not react. They also passed through Alicia's room and the library but the chains still hasn't given off any signs. All that's left is the storage room and the master's bedroom.

"Kurapika." Kuroro called out and stopped running. Kurapika also stopped on her tracks just as the man was materializing his Skill Book. He flipped its pages and halted on the teleportation skill. "Hold my hand." he ordered and the blonde quickly reached out.

But before they could even touch each other's hands, the two felt a sudden aura burst and quickly jumped away from each other. Kurapika's scarlet eyes widened when she sensed another presence not far behind her. Based on her instincts, she kicked the floor and pushed herself to the left, just when a sharp object suddenly flew past her shoulder. She barely even dodged it since she felt a slight cut on her neck sting.

Kuroro on the other hand used _Gyo _and was able to make out Kurapika's distant figure. Gritting his teeth, he took out two needles from his pocket and threw it at the human figure he saw behind the blonde, hitting it right through the head.

"Kurapika!" he called out again.

"I'm fine." Kurapika's reply floated up.

Kuroro furrowed his eyebrows. Was that a nen user? If so, then they knew that they were coming. They knew what they came for and made preparations just like they did. If that's the case, then did someone from their team leakedout information to them?

But the notion itself is impossible. The Spiders are loyal to him and the same with Kurapika's friends to Kurapika herself.

All of the sudden, the lights went on. Everything in Kuroro's vision was white for a moment, but his obsidian eyes gradually adjusted to the sudden change. What the hell is happening? This is not part of the plan. It's seven minutes too early before the fifteen minutes time limit.

"How bold Kuroro Lucifer!" that familiar hoarse voice suddenly came erupting. "I knew you'd be doing this."

Both Kuroro and Kurapika looked at the person standing at the other side of the hallway, only to find Greg Mytrle smirking, his dark blue eyes eyes slanting like the usual villain stereotype. He was the complete opposite of the man Kurapika met a few hours ago.

But that aside, Kurapika focused herself on the fact that their well-thought out plan just came crashing down. They have to think of another way to get out of here alive with their target item. The blonde even doubted that Kuroro would leave without his mother's preserved blood.

"I know who you are, Kuroro Lucifer." Greg announced and Kuroro clenched his fists. "The leader of the Spiders, a murderer, Aamir Ephraim's son..." the old man then clicked his tongue then grinned. "... and Etana Ephraim's beloved child."

At the mention of his mother's name, Kuroro wasn't able to hold back any longer. His quick hand pulled out another set of needles and threw them towards Greg. But then, a long-haired man suddenly appeared out of nowhere, jumped in front of Greg and deflected those needles with his weapon, a sword.

Greg laughed manically. "I know what you came here for." he said. "Your mother's blood, isn't that right? I knew from the moment Alicia told me about your son's mark that you are Aamir's missing child."

"Mark?" Kurapika whispered under her breath. "K-Krisu has the mark?" her question was directed to Kuroro, but it seems like the man had no intention of answering. His obsidian eyes are focused on one thing; killing the man who killed his mother.

Kuroro was quiet all this time. He's both fuming and analyzing the situation. Certainly Greg did not only hire one nen user as his body guard. There are others, but are well hidden. Their _Zetsu _is perfect, but if Kuroro tries, he could easily find them. However, he must not lose his concentration. It's not only his life that is at risk here but also Kurapika's.

"Kurapika, back me up." he ordered and flipped his Skill Book while Kurapika readied her chains.

"Oh no you don't! Attack him!" Greg yelled angrily and the long-haired man quickly lunged forward.

Needle versus Sword. Kuroro blocked the swordsman's attack with two needles, and both were trying to push each other down. Just when Kurapika was about to use her chains, six more nen user suddenly came out from nowhere. The blonde's eyes widened in shock when she recognized who those guys are. The _Injuus._ But they're all dead, defeated by the Spiders back in York Shin.

"Surprised?" Greg asked, overflowing with too much confidence. "Well, you won't be for long. Kill those two!"

The six Injuus all directed their attacks at Kurapika; the dog, the worm, the owl, the bat, the porcupine, and the leech. Kurapika can take down two of them if she wants to, but six at the same time is difficult. Kuroro quickly ducked and delivered a leg sweep and a kick to the gut towards the swordsman he's fighting, causing his opponent to lose his balance. Then, as quickly as he can, he turned towards Kurapika to help her while his opponent is still disoriented

Kurapika threw her Chain Jail at the Dog Injuu and jumped up, all the while the chains easily wrapping around the target despite it's agility. The Bat Injuu followed her up, but the blond is already prepared. With her Reinforcement nen, she hauled the Wolf up and threw it at the Bat behind her, causing the two to collide. She landed far from the other four Injuus that Kuroro has taken on.

"Oh? The _Injuus_ again?" another familiar voice came up, and this time, Kurapika smiled to herself.

"You guys are late." She called out. "They're yours now."

Shalnark, Nobunaga, Machi, Phinx, Feitan, Gon, Killua, and Leorio suddenly appeared. They must have left their posts and came rushing to where the battle is. Seeing that the plan has failed, there's no need to follow it till the end. The Spiders might be even thinking that they're getting all the fun for themselves, although this mission is not for having fun at all.

"Danchou, let us take care of those guys." Phinx yelled, flexing his neck and knuckles.

Machi readied her strings, Nobunaga unsheathed his sword, Shalnark took out his phone, Feitan readied his umbrella, Gon and Killua displayed their _Ren_, and Leorio is getting ready to use his _Hatsu._

"The Injuus? I thought we wiped them out many years ago." Nobunaga questioned, scratching the back of his head.

Kuroro backed away from the _Injuus_ and teleported himself to where Kurapika and the others are. When he did so, the _Injuus_ did not chase after him. He then deduced that they will only move if Greg orders them to do so.

"They're made out of nen. Destroy them all." Kuroro simply ordered and the rest obliged happily. He has no time to deal with Greg's antics now.

"Kill them!" Greg yelled again, and the Injuus quickly recovered.

The Spiders, Gon, Killua, and Leorio engaged in battle. Kuroro and Kurapika stayed back, reminding themselves what they really came here for.

"The storage." Kurapika said when she reached where Kuroro is. "We have to check there."

The man nodded and flipped the pages of his book once again to get to the teleportation skill.

"Kuroro." Greg suddenly called out before the man could use his skill. His grin then widened. "Let me tell you something interesting." he paused when he saw that he had captured Kuroro's attention. "Your mother is still alive."

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**Author's Notes: **_Hello guys! This story is still alive.. that's right! Lately, I can't find any motivation to write fanfiction. Maybe because there's no more Kurapika and Kuroro in the recent episodes. But that's okay Hunter x Hunter is still the best. And I'm going to the province for a one-month vacation. There's no wifi in the province so I might not be able to update my stories. How sad... Anyways, please read and review! Hope you enjoy this comeback. _

**P.S.**_I might put a third instalment for the Forced Series; Forced Memories. It contains short stories that I wrote in a notebook and is yet to be typed. Some stories would be set many years after Forced Beginnings._

_When a guy asks Kairn as his date for prom, how will Kuroro do his interrogation to make sure his daughter is in good hands?_

_Krisu talks about a man who once carried him when he ran away from his nanny and gave him a candy, which became his favourite treat in the years to come. What memories will be triggered?_

_Story about how Kurapika was able to finish her book about the Underground River..._

_Those are just a few of those stories. If you have other requests, you can just review or PM me. :D_

**Next: **_How were the dead Injuus revived? And is it true what Gregory Myrtle said? That Kuroro's mother is still alive? If so, what would Kuroro do? Karin and Krisu then both discover what their real gifts are as descendants of High Ones._

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